GUWAHATI, Oct 18 - With a view to preventing any untoward incident in the run-up to and during the Diwali festival, the Kamrup Metro district administration and the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) have fixed strict guidelines for retail sale of firecrackers in the city.
�Normally, people tend to sell firecrackers everywhere and such practices tend to create problems related to safety and fire hazards. We want to prevent any untoward incidents and also regulate the sale of products as per the norms and so create a conducive environment where business can be carried out in an environment where all safety parameters are adhered to,� Kamrup Metro Deputy Commissioner Dr M Angamuthu told The Assam Tribune today.
He said that certain places have been earmarked at each of the revenue circles in the city for retail sale of firecrackers.
The places where retail sale of firecrackers has been allowed are old jail campus at Fancy Bazar, Pandu College field, Dispur College field, Bonda Bihutoli, space below Ganeshguri flyover, space below Bhangagarh flyover, space below Six Mile flyover, Gitanagar field, Beltola Bazar Bihutoli, Borbari ME School field, Udayan Kristi Sangha field, Lalganesh temple field, Rajdhar Bora Higher Secondary School fie1d, Bonda Bihu field, Chandrapur Higher Secondary School field, Sonapur Mini Stadium, Khetri Gaon Panchayat field, Ulubari Girls� Higher Secondary School field, Sonaram Higher Secondary School field, Pachim Boragaon Prathamik Vidyalaya field and Pub Guwahati High School field.
�We are pulling all our resources to ensure that safety standards are maintained in such protected places. There will be back-end support from the police, Fire Brigade, DDMA and Guwahati Municipal Corporation,� said Dr Angamuthu.
The district administration has also decided to depute one fully equipped SDRF team in each of these venues during the Diwali days for handling any kind of emergency.
The official said that the DDMA is prepared to handle and mitigate any untoward incident and is committed to ensuring safety of the life and property of the common people.
�There is a probability of disaster from the possession, stocking and sale and use of firecrackers during the festive season and in the interest of the safety of the life and property of the common people, all the circle officers of Kamrup Metro district have been directed to make on-the-spot inspection of such activity of possession/stocking/sale of firecrackers under their jurisdiction in the coming days to prevent any disaster and also for the enforcement of the relevant provisions of the Disaster Management Act, 2005,� said the DC.
Pulak Mahanta, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Kamrup Metro and CEO of DDMA, will be the overall in-charge of the whole exercise.
Dr Angamuthu said some traders are selling Chinese firecrackers in the markets, which are totally illegal and banned by the government. �In view of that, all the circle officers of Kamrup Metro district have been directed to conduct extensive inspection of their respective revenue circle areas and take necessary action as per law against the traders selling Chinese articles,� he added.