Nearing the Diwali festival, when the demand for firecrackers surges, shops cater to this by selling firecrackers at wholesale prices. Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has decided to strictly implement its policy for firecracker stalls and file a police complaint against the illegal stalls that have come up in the city. Meanwhile, citizens are irked by the illegal firecracker stands that have already emerged on roads, footpaths, and congested areas across the city.
Gayatri Sawant, a resident of Hadapsar, said, "I went for a walk in the evening and we saw stalls popping up near the footpath in the Kale Padel area. These stalls caused a lot of hindrance to walkers and also created traffic congestion. The authority should take some strict actions against illegal firecracker stalls."
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Fire dept NOC under scanner
"According to the law, a fire department NOC is mandatory and other regulations are to be followed. Fire tenders are to be stationed near the firecracker selling shops. It is seen that people are putting their firecracker shops on footpaths and public spaces, which is a serious violation of the law. If anything untoward happens, then an FIR must be lodged against the illegal stall owners who are making money out of PMC public roads and not paying any tax, endangering the lives of citizens and causing immense public inconvenience. Such offences should not be treated as petty offences, and MCOCA must be used as it is earning money on precious public space by showing no respect for the law, which is very dangerous," said Jaymala Dhankikar, a social worker from NIBM Annexe, Pune.
Daljeet Goraya, another resident, said, "The illegal firecracker stalls have come up near Tribeca High Street in the NIBM area, near Axis Bank, right in front of the chowk. For setting up firecracker stalls, it requires permission from the civic city engineer department, health department, and fire department. These people have no permission from PMC, but they have strong political support, which gives them the encouragement to set up these bamboo stalls. Who will take the responsibility for any untoward incident happening at such places?"
Somnath Bankar, Deputy Commissioner (Encroachment / Illegal Construction Removal Department), said, "PMC will start taking action against such stalls. We will open the window to issue space and guidelines to set up firecracker stalls for Diwali celebrations. For the stalls that have already come up, we will send our team to those locations, fine them, and take action against them."
