Hyderabad: Police detained firecracker sellers along with some Bajrang Dal activists after they tried to stage a protest at Koti on Friday against the ban on firecrackers ahead of Diwali by the state government. These sellers are temporary shopkeepers who sell firecrackers on Diwali every year.
This comes after National Green Tribunal (NGT) and Telangana High Court imposed a total ban on the sale and use of firecrackers in the state from November 12 to midnight on November 30. The decision was announced to prevent the COVID-19 pandemic from worsening and due to the air pollution in the country.
Moreover, the Telangana State Disaster Response and Fire Services Department on Friday issued an order, which read, “All temporary firecrackers shop’s ‘Fire license’ of Diwali 2020 in the entire state have been canceled.”
Subhash Chander, state co-convener of Bajrang Dal along with Srinivas Rany Hyderabad president of Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and firecrackers traders on Friday held a protest against the Telangana State government’s decision to ban the sale and use of crackers (including green crackers).
The protesters said the ban would cause a huge loss to their business and demanded compensation from the government. “Will Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao purchase all the crackers,” they asked.
Manik Rao, a crackers trader said that the sudden decision of the government and fire department has put the lives of many businessmen at stake. “All the traders who were badly affected during COVID-19 had purchased tones of firecrackers from the fireworks industry on loan. If the government had planned to impose such a ban, why did it issue the license to firecracker traders to sell green crackers in Telangana,” he said.