Sellers Take Orders On WhatsApp, Use Teens To Get Buyers On Roads
A cart displays packets of crackers at in Noida
Ghaziabad/Noida: Boxes of green-labelled crackers line up shelves. Ask for something louder, sellers will cautiously take you inside and show you their stock. Some are taking orders on WhatsApp and delivering banned crackers through bylanes, others are using teenagers at traffic signals to find buyers.With Supreme Court allowing only certified green crackers this Diwali, traders appear to be making their own rules — deciding what is green, what can be sold and how banned fireworks reach customers.At New Kondli wholesale market on Delhi-Noida border, stalls look compliant – green crackers are displayed outside.
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But when this correspondent asked for non-green varieties, a worker beckoned him in and brought out several boxes. “Don’t show these outside. If police see them, it will create trouble for us,” he said.The stock included ‘Nazi green bomb’ from Haryana and ‘Sparrow’ from Gujarat – neither was certified green. Another packet bore a green-fireworks sticker but no QR code. “This comes from Hapur,” said Karan, who runs the stall.Several shops also stocked plastic-gun crackers with green stickers. Asked what the label meant, a shopkeeper said, “We don’t know what it is about.”At Indira Market in Sector 27 of Noida, Imran had packets with a green sticker and QR code. “But I don’t know what this sticker or the QR code is about. Maybe, it’s the cost of the packet,” he told TOI.In Ghaziabad’s Gunj area, a shopkeeper admitted that sellers were shifting to WhatsApp. “With police and the administration keeping a strict eye on us, we take orders on WhatsApp and supply directly from our godowns,” he said.But first, customers’ identities are checked and payment collected. Then, the deliveries begin.“We very well know the bylanes and police checkpoints. A scooter rides ahead of us and its rider calls us to warn of police checks. The consignment is carefully hidden in the delivery scooter’s trunk. We ensure the pillion rider is a woman because that attracts less suspicion. That is how we deliver banned crackers,” he smiled.The shopkeeper claimed the stock came from New Kondli and parts of Loni, where workers from Farrukhabad, traditionally associated with firecracker-making, were operating clandestinely. He also mentioned Gajraula and Bulandshahr as his sources of smuggled crackers.At a CISF Road traffic signal, opposite the headquarters, a group of teenagers approached this correspondent. “Patake chaiye (want crackers)?” Asked where, one pointed to a tree. Behind it was a carton of non-green fireworks.Skyshots cost Rs 500 a packet and an “anar” bomb Rs 450. Asked for green crackers, the boys pointed to the packets colour. “See, these are green. Our elders brought these in bulk from Bulandshahr and asked us to find customers at traffic signals,” one of them said.In Delhi Gate’s bylanes, traders displayed ‘green crackers’. One of the sellers, Shubhankar Gupta, said, “There is a QR code scan to verify whether it is green or not.” One scan opened a page listing the licence number, product, chemical ingredients and NEERI certificate.But mixed with the main stock, Gupta had several packets with no QR code. “These aren’t harmful,” he said.Under its Oct 29 order, the Supreme Court allowed only crackers certified by CSIR-NEERI and licensed by PESO. The court itself noted that conventional crackers continued to be sold as ‘green’ despite the earlier ban.Green crackers are designed to emit fewer pollutants than conventional fireworks, but are not entirely pollution-free. Boxes must be sealed and carry a product and batch specific QR code showing the manufacturer, NEERI registration, PESO/DM licence, formulation and test certificate. Crackers containing barium, products not approved by NEERI and series crackers such as laris and garlands are prohibited. The order also bars firecrackers from entering NCR from outside the region.Sales are allowed only through licensed traders at designated sites. Bursting of crackers is permitted only from 6am to 7am and 8pm to 10pm on Nov 7 and 8. The complete ban returns on Nov 9.
