In a first, the Fire Department is all set to crack the whip on firecracker sellers in the city. The move comes a few months after the Kollam fire incident in Kerala which took place in April, killing over 100 people. Unlike in the previous years, when permissions were given by the police and the GHMC, department officials will follow a strict process. They have begun issuing notices to shops.
“Until now, it was the GHMC and police departments which were stepping-in, as none was looking into the issue of giving firecracker wholesalers and retailers permissions. Usually, they would ask the Fire Department to give these outlets No Objection Certificates (NOC), which should not have been done according to the law,” revealed a senior official from the Fire Department.
According to the Fire Services Act, officials even have the power to seize stocks from a firecracker godown if it was found endangering the lives of others.
The senior official pointed out that there had been fire outbreaks in the past as wholesalers had stocked up crackers without necessary precautions.
Fresh application
Those who wish to obtain a licence from the Fire Department to sell firecrackers will now have to apply and pay Rs.2,500 as fee, for one year. “We have begun issuing notices to firecracker outlets. So far they have not obtained any licenses from us and must apply in a prescribed manner,” said Srinivas Reddy, District Fire Officer (DFO), Hyderabad.
Telangana Fireworks Dealers Association president J. Manik Rao said that the move was a good idea. “I agree with the Fire Department. The licences issued before were in completely different situations compared to now. The Department was not clear about the specifications of the safety measures to be taken.” He added that clarity was needed as things like water tanks; fire extinguishers etc. were in place at the shops.
Santhosh Kumar, a dealer from Secunderabad, however felt that there was no need to seek licences every year from the Fire Department, as it was a seasonal business. “We take proper safety measures and keep only those firecrackers in our shops which are not highly explosive, in nominal quantities. The rest is in a godown on the outskirts of Hyderabad,” he stated.
Stringent inspection
After issuing the notices, the dealers will have to apply for the licenses. An official of the Fire Department will then inspect their outlets.
If the officer finds that a particular shop was endangering lives of public and recommends that a licence should not be issued, the Department can then seize the stock from that particular outlet, said the official.
(With inputs from Ravali Yendala and Harshita Agarwal)
No need to seek licences every year as it was a seasonal business, says dealer
