VIJAYAWADA: The festival of glitter and fun is around the corner and people from all walks of life are gearing up for celebrations of which bursting firecrackers is an important part. Shopping malls, sweet shops and multiplexes are teeming with visitors.
But, there is concern among a section of people who are pressing for an eco-friendly festival over bursting of firecrackers that pollute the environment. On the other hand, there are some others who feel that revelries for a day or two will not cause any major harm.
The social media is also divided but there is no word from the side of the local body, the government and public representatives on adoption of eco-friendly means to celebrate the festival.
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The AP Pollution Control Board is organising ‘kala jataras’ across the district to spread the message of eco-friendly festival. “We roped in a team of folk artists which is performing various playlets, songs and other folk activity at schools and also public places in the district,” said PCB Environment Engineer E. Satyanarayana.
On their part, the city police issued guidelines to be followed by traders who sell firecrackers at authorised places.
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The Bhavani Ghat at Bhavanipuram, the sale venue, is open with as many as 103 stalls which are allotted for traders but stocks are yet to arrive at a majority of the stalls.
On Thursday, only a handful of purchases were made and the traders fear lesser volume of sales as the venue has been moved to a far off place.
Traders said the prices of firecrackers had risen only by 6 per cent compared to last year.
“We are expecting good sales this year but there are several hurdles and challenges. The stalls are almost 10 km away from city centre and the number of stalls is almost double that of last year. This may affect our business,” said a trader at the Bhavani Ghat.
Also, the venue allotted by the municipal corporation may face a problem if it rains.