Fireworks merchants in Visakhapatnam pin high hopes on Deepavali

Emerging from the shadow of the pandemic after three years, they are looking forward to doing brisk business in the coming days

Casting off the grim spectre of the COVID-19 pandemic that disrupted business for the last two years, firecracker merchants in the city are gearing up to welcome the festival of lights in a grand manner, hopeful that the lifting of restrictions will usher in brisk sales.

Though the police are yet to release detailed guidelines regarding the sale of firecrackers, shopkeepers are busy in securing all the necessary permissions and are planning to commence sales from Saturday.

The total number of stalls are expected to see a sharp increase compared to previous years. In 2021, Visakhapatnam saw only 358 stalls. This year, by Thursday evening itself, temporary licences were issued to over 400 stalls with the total number of licences expected to be between 450 and 500.

“After celebrating all festivals in a low-key manner in the last two years on account of the pandemic, people are going to be enthusiastically celebrating Deepavali this year. We anticipate an increase in the number of stalls this year”Syed SirajStar Fire Merchants Welfare Society president

Regional Fire Officer (RFO) of the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) Niranjan Reddy said that the Fire Department has approved 407 applications till Thursday evening.. After getting the nod of the Fire Department, the merchants will seek clearances from the Electricity, Town Planning and Police Departments before setting up their stalls at designated areas.

A senior police officer said that though no coordination meeting involving various agencies was organised yet, they have received instructions from Commissioner of Police Ch. Srikanth to issue clearances only after checking the site and if all documents were in order.

“Like every year, we have started securing all the required permissions which are likely to be given in one or two days. This year, we are planning to set up 150 stalls with 50 stalls each in three clusters on the Andhra University grounds,” said Syed Siraj, president of Star Fire Merchants Welfare Society.