VIJAYAWADA: Wholesale firecracker dealers of Vijayawada feel that the Supreme Court judgement restricting bursting of firecrackers to two hours - 8 pm to 10 pm - on Diwali will not impact their sales. But what has made the dealers extremely happy is the SC’s ban over online sale of firecrackers.
The public has given a mixed response to the SC judgement on firecrackers. While some have supported the order, most have spoken against it. Memes criticising the judgement have flooded the social media platforms. The Krishna district administration is preparing plans to fully implement the apex court order.
Along with the aforementioned restriction, the court has also set timings of 11.55 pm to 12.30 pm to burst firecrackers on Christmas and New Year and banned the online sale of firecrackers by e-commerce firms.
Speaking to TNIE, Changa Devayya, a wholesale dealer in Vijayawada, said, “The ban on the online sale of firecrackers is a good development because e-commerce firms are destroying our business. Despite the SC order, I am sure there will be cases of children bursting firecrackers before the SC time restriction comes into play. Also, there is little chance of door-to-door supervision of who is bursting firecrackers and when.”
T Harnath, a youth from Vijayawada, expressed his disappointment over the restriction. “We didn’t expect the SC to come up with such an order in the name of curbing air pollution. We express joy by bursting firecrackers on Diwali. Imposing restrictions on the celebration of the festival is ridiculous,” T Harnath said.
V Sarath Babu, another denizen, praised the order saying it was one of the best judgements of the SC. “People shouldn’t consider the order to be a restriction on their celebration of the festival. Rather, they should realise that this is a step towards saving the environment and in turn, our future generations. We can also celebrate Diwali by decorating our house with colourful lights and candles,” he said.
Meanwhile, Krishna District Collector B Lakshmikantham held a meeting on Wednesday and discussed the methods of imposing the SC order throughout the district. It was decided that awareness programmes will be organised to sensitise people.