Ghaziabad: Police have identified four sites for the sale of green crackers from Nov 5 to 7. They are Kavinagar, Ghanta Ghar Ramlila ground, Vijay Nagar Ramlila ground and Atal Chowk in Indirapuram.Retailers will be allowed to sell only those green crackers that are certified by CSIR-NEERI and PESO, in line with Supreme Court’s 2025 order. An official from the district administration said, “Saturday was the last date for applying for sale of green crackers and so far over 200 retailers have applied. Their applications will be verified and the final list of retailers will be granted temporary licences for the said period on Nov 3.”The official added that retailers will also have to apply for an NOC from the fire department for their green crackers. They have to set up 10 feet by 10 feet temporary shops at the identified spots and ensure that the distance between two shops is also a minimum of 10 feet, he said.Meanwhile, Firecrackers Traders Association in Ghaziabad alleged police seized stocks containing green crackers and claimed they were illegal.Ashutosh Gupta, president of the group, said, “The majority of our income happens around this time of the year. For the past few years, we have been incurring heavy losses because of the complicated compliance measures. We are supposed to provide NOCs, character certificates with separate permission from beat stations and police stations even though we are authentic sellers of green crackers.”He said retailers are being harassed by police. “We don’t make green crackers but we get it from wholesale dealers in Bulandshahar, Hathras, Jhajjar, Gajraula who have the licence to make green crackers certified by CSIR-NEERI and PESO. Yet our stocks are seized. We are still unsure how many of us will get licences. Usually, we place bulk orders after we get the licence. If it takes too long, the buying price will increase,” he added.
