With Diwali round the corner, vendors are found approaching the fire service department to procure no- objection certificates (NOCs) for selling fire crackers.
A fire service officer said that a large number of vendors have approached the department, seeking NOCs for setting shops for selling fire crackers. “It proves very difficult for us to conduct physical verification of the sites the traders would set shops to sell firecrackers from. NOCs are being given to the vendors strictly on the basis of the affidavits they submit, stating that they would put their shops at the places demarcated by the district administration and that they would keep fire safety equipment at their shops,” he said.
Dehradun fire service officer SP Mamgai said that the fire station officials will be deployed at the sites where the holders of the license issued by the department are doing trade to see whether they are following the fire safety norms.
He further said that the fire accidents during Diwali festival can be prevented by making the general people, particularly, the residents of apartments more aware of the fire safety norms. Several steps will be taken by way of deploying fire tenders at sites considered sensitive like the main markets, he added. Notably, the district administration had issued licenses to around 700 traders for setting up fire cracker shops at demarcated paces in the city over the past few years.