Like every year, illegal sale of crackers has come around as headache for the police in Cuttack. In a major crackdown, the Twin City police on Wednesday arrested as many as six people on charges of illegally manufacturing and selling firecrackers.
It’s festive season and time for merriment but along with that it is equally important to exercise caution. With Diwali around the corner, it is perfect time for boom of firecracker business after two years of dip in trade due to Covid. And unscrupulous traders are making full use of it.
Reports said, a team of Jagatpur Police conducted raids at Padmapur and Trilochanpur while acting on allegations of illegal cracker sale in the area. During the search, the team seized a huge cache of firecrackers worth over Rs 5 lakh.
Rabindra Meher, Jagatpur IIC said, "increasing crackdown has dealt a huge blow to unauthorised firecracker business in Padmapur area which is otherwise known as the hub of cracker trade.
As per Odisha government rules, a person cannot manufacture or sell firecracker without license. Permission for selling of crackers has to be obtained from the local police. Similarly, crackers can only be sold at a designated place as marked by the administration.
But people have often been found blatantly violating the norms during festive and marriage season.
(Report by Biswajit Acharya)