Day before sales are allowed, Sadar Bazar’s firecracker trade already buzzing

“Jaldi le lijiye, police ghoom rahi hai (Please buy quickly, the police are patrolling)”, a young seller told a customer in a narrow lane in Sadar Bazar on Tuesday afternoon. It was around 2.30 pm, a day before the permitted window for selling firecrackers in Delhi was to begin.

Yet, business was already in full swing.

The seller, in his early 20s, was among a group of young men carrying kattas (sacks) stuffed with packets of firecrackers – phuljharis, anaar, rockets, chakris, children’s matchstick crackers and high-decibel crackers.

When asked whether these were green crackers, he replied, “Yeh kya hota hai? (What is that?)”

When reminded of the Supreme Court order, which would come into effect on Wednesday, another young man in the group said, “That’s exactly why we are asking you to buy them quickly.”

Ahead of Diwali, the Supreme Court had on Monday allowed the sale of certified green crackers at designated locations in Delhi-NCR for three days – from November 4 to 6. The use of these crackers was permitted only between 6 am and 7 am and 8 pm and 10 pm on November 7 and 8, when Diwali will be celebrated. The temporary relaxation will end on November 8, with the complete ban returning on November 9.

Further down towards Qutab Road, sellers were openly offering firecrackers, while keeping a wary eye out for the police.

A shopkeeper, mostly selling children’s novelty crackers that produce sparks but make little noise, insisted that his products were permitted. “These are for children; these are allowed.”

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Asked where he had sourced them from, he said, “We don’t know much, but most come from Sonipat in Haryana.”

A look at the packaging showed that most packets carried a green-coloured logo bearing the words ‘Green Fireworks – CSIR-NEERI (National Environmental Engineering Research Institute), India’. The stickers on the boxes mentioned the manufacturers’ names and carried QR codes that redirected customers to their websites.

While sellers appeared anxious about the police turning up and seizing their stock, customers made hurried purchases. According to some vendors, most of their stock had been sold within minutes.

At one shop, a middle-aged seller said the window to do business this year was too short.

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“Things will be better from tomorrow,” he said, adding that traders were grateful for the government’s decision to allow green crackers.

“But we got little time to make up for the losses of previous years. How much can we earn in three days?” the seller asked.

The SC, in its order, allowed manufacturers holding valid certification from CSIR-NEERI and the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) to manufacture only approved green crackers between November 2 and 6.

The bench further ordered that traders whose licences had been cancelled were allowed to have them temporarily restored from November 4 to 6 to “facilitate the sale of approved green crackers purchased from CSIR-NEERI-certified manufacturers”.

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Such licences shall be immediately cancelled if they are found flouting the aforesaid directions, and they shall be prohibited from selling firecrackers during the remaining period, it added.

According to a senior police officer, several teams have been working on intelligence inputs to prevent the illegal storage and sale of firecrackers. Although manufacturing has been banned in Delhi for the past decade, police teams have been conducting regular raids to curb their unauthorised storage and sale, the officer added.

Last month, as part of a crackdown, police had seized over 1,073 kg of firecrackers and registered 10 FIRs across five police station areas – Lahori Gate, Burari, Kotwali, Bara Hindu Rao and Subzi Mandi – for alleged unauthorised sale and possession.

According to Delhi government officials, there are around 125 permanent firecracker sellers registered in the Capital. The government also issues a limited number of temporary licences ahead of the festival, they added.

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This year, the district deputy commissioners of police (DCPs) will issue temporary licences for the period between November 4 and 6.

According to wholesale businessman Rajiv Jain, repeated restrictions had taken a toll on the firecracker business, particularly for permanent sellers.

“The year-round ban on firecrackers affects the business of permanent sellers. Last year, we got some relaxation, but we were given very few days to sell. This year, again, we have just three days to sell crackers,” Jain said.

The production, storage, sale and use of firecrackers were completely banned in Delhi in 2024. Before that, restrictions were generally imposed seasonally, either around Diwali or during the three months when pollution levels remain high across the NCR.

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Since manufacturing is banned in Delhi, the sellers here mostly buy green firecrackers from Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu; Rohtak, Sonipat, Jhajjar, Kurukshetra in Haryana and Meerut, Sharanpur and Hapur in UP.