Jatni: The Khurda district administration has allowed cracker traders to open their stalls in an open ground outside Jatni town to ensure safety for the locals.
The administration has issued licences to several cracker traders to open their stalls in an open ground near Sarat Paikaray stadium.
Jatni is well known for its flourishing cracker trade. Several traders from the locality usually procure huge amounts of firecrackers from Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu and sell them to retailers as well as common people, sources said.
Retailers from Khurda, Puri, Nayagarh and some other places purchase varieties of crackers from the traders at Jatni, sources added.
Earlier, the cracker traders were doing their business at local markets. To ensure safety of the locals and to prevent any fire mishap, the administration had allowed the cracker traders to set up their stalls at Sarat Paikaray stadium in 2016.
The cracker traders were also allowed to open their stalls at the stadium ahead of the Diwali festival in 2017 and 2018. This year, the administration has asked the traders to set up their cracker shops in an open ground near the stadium. The place has been named as cracker market.
“We have set up cracker stalls in the open ground in accordance with the safety guidelines issued by the administration. However, the recent rains have affected our sales,” Shibaprasad Mahapatra, a cracker trader.
Manoj Bhuinya, another cracker trader, too welcomed the district administration’s direction to set up temporary firecracker shops in the open ground. “The new cracker market has enough space for parking. Customers are not facing any inconvenience here,” he added.
Jatni fire officer D Rajguru said they have issued a set of guidelines for traders to open cracker stalls. “A distance of three metres must be maintained between two cracker stalls. Besides, every stall must have its fire extinguisher and water container, sand bags and thick sacks. The traders have been asked to leave adequate space in the market for free movement of vehicles. Any violation in this regard would invite stern action,” Rajguru added.
