Don't buy crackers from unlicensed vendors: Bengaluru City Police Commissioner

As Deepavali draws closer, more and more voices advocating for celebrating the festival in an eco-friendly manner continue to grow. Bengaluru City Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh sounded a note of caution when he advised people to purchase only green crackers from authorised sellers at designated spots. 

The city top cop warned people against buying crackers from unlicensed street vendors not only because it was illegal but also because of the risk of such crackers causing accidents. 

The Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) has identified 87 grounds for setting up cracker stores, and a list of the same has been submitted to the Fire Department for a No-Objection Certificate (NOC). After evaluating all the places on the list, the department has concluded that these locations can accommodate up to 411 stalls, depending on factors such as accessibility for fire tenders in case of an emergency, said Kuldeep Kumar Jain, Joint Commissioner of Police (Administration).

A large number of applications were submitted seeking a licence for setting up temporary firecracker stalls. Licence will be issued through a lottery system. Those selected will have to pay a fee of Rs 5,000, and Rs 25,000 for the stall. 

Licenced vendors can sell crackers between October 18 and 22. They will have to strictly adhere to norms laid down by the Fire Department and the pollution board, Jain said.

“If we find any violations, vendors will be booked under the provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS),” he added.

Sale timings

The sale of crackers will begin at 6 am and go on till 10 pm. The size of each stall is 10x10 sq feet and the distance between two stalls should be 3 feet. It will not be permitted for traders or their staff to remain in the stalls overnight. This year, the fee for the NOC has been increased from Rs 5,000 to Rs 6,400.