VIJAYAWADA: This year, the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) has allotted cracker stalls to traders at the Punnami Ghat in Bhavanipuram. The stalls are being erected right under high tension wires. Even a small fire from one of these shops or snapping of the high tension wires, can result in a total disaster. Yet, officials do not seem worried and some have dismissed any safety concerns as ‘mere speculation.’
A total of 103 temporary cracker stalls with asbestos roofs are being set up at the Punnami Ghat for the sale of firecrackers for the Diwali festival later this month. The ghat was spruced up for the recent Krishna Pushkaralu. But, traders who are making periodic trips to the venue, are not happy with the arrangements. The civic body has provided just enough space for each stall— each stall is about 15 ft high and 15 ft wide. The traders are particularly upset with the allotted space under high tension wires and are also worried that their business would become unviable at the place, given its distance to the main city.
One of the stall owners, P Veerabhadra Rao, who runs Mayuri Crackers, said this was the first time in several years that the civic body had allotted stalls for traders under high tension wires, which poses a serious risk to the 200-odd men working at the multiple stalls as well as hundreds of shoppers who visit these stalls everyday.
“The crackers have chemicals like potassium nitrate, barium nitrate and sulphur. Even if the authorities manage to douse fire in case of any fire accident, burning of such chemicals in high quantities poses threat to humans. Instead of forcing us to do business under risky conditions, the authorities concerned should provide space for us (traders) at the Amaravati Shopping festival also set up near the Punnami Ghat as no stalls have been set up there,” he said. “Each shopkeeper has invested close to `4 lakh and purchased 200 varieties of firecrackers from Sivakasi, the hub for cracker manufacturing units, and stored them in godowns at Tadepalli and Mangalagiri,” said Vijayawada Retail Fireworks Dealers’ Association secretary K Kodandaramaiah.
Adding to the risk factor, the merchants are also worried about the distance factor. The authorities have denied permission for setting up the stalls at the Gymkhana grounds in Gandhinagar, PWD grounds and MB Stadium near Singh Nagar, which were the venues till last year. Instead, they shifted all the stalls to Punnami Ghat. Thus, people from across the city need to head to the Punnami Ghat to purchase any crackers. As a result, the cracker sellers are worried that there could be at least 30 per cent dip in the business.
Speaking to Express, regional fire officer SV Chowdary said that cracker stalls should not be operated under the high tension wires.
“The doors of the shop should not face each other. The floor area of each shop should be at least 10 to 12 sqm. Under no circumstances should 50 shops be allowed in a cluster,” he said.