HC order: Firecracker traders fear huge losses

Sukhmeet Bhasin

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, October 15

Traders selling firecrackers have been left high and dry after the district administration cancelled 162 licenses issued to them.

This morning, they gathered outside Multipurpose Sports Stadium and Des Raj School from where they went to the Finance Minister Manpreet Badal’s office.

They met Jaijeet Singh Johal at the office, who assured them that their issue would be discussed and look into.

They said, “We are clueless about what to do next! For us, Diwali is finished.”

Deepak Bansal, a trader said, “We have already purchased a huge stock of firecrackers but just four days before Diwali, the district administration has cancelled the licenses. Now, instead of 162, only 34 firecracker sellers will be given licences. The others will have to face huge loss.”

He said the Union Government was giving benefits to corporate houses whereas its policies were against the interests of small traders.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi burst crackers through a remote control at Dusehra. Was he not creating pollution? How come suddenly they have reduced the timing of bursting of crackers. They have even lowered the number of licences to be issued to cracker sellers.”

Another firecracker seller Ravi Kumar said if the government or court had to do this, then they should have done it two-three months earlier so that traders should not have purchased stock of firecrackers.

Now, when they had made all arrangements to start selling firecrackers from tomorrow at their stalls, the licences have been cancelled, he added.

Most of the traders said the court should have passed this order some time earlier so that they could plan accordingly.

“Now, we have to either return the remaining crackers to the manufacturers at less prices or we have to keep them in stock for a full year. If we keep the crackers stocked, a majority of them will get damaged. So, we are bound to suffer losses either way,” the traders said.

The High Court has stated in its order that Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh would issue temporary licences to 20 per cent of the total number of licences issued last year.