Cuttack: Following the state government’s order on ban of firecrackers selling till November 30, Cuttack police have started a crackdown on illegal firecracker manufacturing factories in the state ahead of Diwali.
Even after a week of the seizure of a huge cache of firecrackers and explosives materials, the police again busted illegal production of cracker units in Cuttack, late Saturday night.
A raid was conducted by the police on a firecracker manufacturing unit operating in Khannagar area of Cuttack town.
The authorities have also detained a person in this connection. The accused has been identified as Yudhistir Nayak. He was booked under Section 9(b) I.E Act r/w and Section 5 of Odisha Fireworks and Loud Speaker (Regulation) Act and forwarded to a court.
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Acting on several complaints about the operation, a team of Badambadi Police and Special Squad conducted a raid at Nayak’s house in Khannagar area. During the raid, police seized around 62 bundles of firecrackers containing 30 crackers each, 186 ‘ghadi’ and 15 ‘sutuli’ bombs.
Notably, a week ago Cuttack police conducted raids across two villages. Several illegal fireworks manufacturing units were detected, explosives and crackers worth around Rs 50 lakh were also seized during the drive.
Police said that similar crackdowns will also start in other areas of the district as well.
Considering the potentially harmful consequences of burning of crackers amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the approaching winter, the Government of Odisha has prohibited the sale and use of firecrackers from November 10 to 30 in the public interest.
Meanwhile, the Cuttack DCP has warned of strict action against those found involved in manufacturing and selling of crackers.
PNN