Dist admn cracks the whip on cracker units

INDORE: In a move aimed at ensuring public safety, the district administration suspended licences of 77 permanent cracker shops in the city on Wednesday. In their reports, SDMs declared shops existing in densely populated areas as asdangerous.a?
The shops have been sealed and the owners have been directed to shift shops away from populated areas within three days.The action against the firecracker shops began after a blast in an illegal firecracker factory in Rau, which killed seven persons.
The district administration conducted a probe into the permanent cracker shops in different parts of the city.
All 26 godowns and 115 permanent shops, mostly operating at Ranipura, Khatipura, Sindhi Colony and Indira Complex area in the city and 12 godowns and 29 permanent shops in Rau were surveyed.
It emerged that most of the shops violated the explosive manufacturing norms and posed a threat to public safety. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who was in the city on Tuesday, turned down the plea of shop owners to allow them to do business from the present locations till the season ends.
ADM Alok Kumar Singh said shop owners, whose licences were suspended, have been told to shift their shops to places prescribed by the administrationas licences for temporary shops.
asWe are looking for a permanent solution with help of the IDA and the IMC,a? said Singh. He said fire brigade clearance would be mandatory for the shop owners. The SDMs have been directed to ensure that the norms were being adhered to.
Rau district administration continued its operations to remove crackers from sealed shops. Under the supervision of the SDMs concerned, six shops were unlocked and crackers were transported to a magazine (place where dynamites are stored) near Simrol.
Box 1 -
Explosives Act flouted
After the Rau explosion, the administration has found many irregularities in firecracker shops. The SDMs found that apart from the violation of the Explosives Act, the licensing conditions were also being flouted. It was also found out that two to three shops were run on a single licence. Several shops were found operating from addresses other than the one mentioned in the licence.
Box 2
40 tonne firecrackers seized
More than 40 tonne firecrackers worth Rs 50 lakh were seized in Indore and Rau in the past few days. The seized crackers have been stored in a magazine in Simrol. According to ADM, the major part of the seized crackers was stored illegally. The administration is consulting legal experts on the issue.