Traders look to sell firecrackers through online portals despite SC ban

New Delhi: Several online portals such as eBay, fireworks companies like cockbrand.in, buyonlinecrackers.com, and crackersindia.com advertised their “high-quality phuljhadis, rockets and anaars” till early Tuesday.

The Supreme Court has put a complete ban on firecrackers this Diwali, due to pollution in the air. The capital city had to suffer a smog for one-week post-Diwali celebrations last year.

Many shopkeepers in Sadar Bazar and other parts of Delhi, suffered big losses due to the SC ban.

However, these shopkeepers when pointed out many such portals, the companies removed “Delhi and NCR” as centres for delivery, confining their business to cities like Pune, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Tiruchirappalli and Chennai in their delivery list.

Also Read: No firecracker sale in Delhi-NCR this Diwali, rules Supreme Court

While some others still mentioned the Capital city. The owner of a website, on anonymity, said, “I read the SC order yesterday but it’s not clear. As my company is headquartered in Rajkot (Gujarat), am I not out of the purview of the cracker sale ban?”

Another portal owner, Ankit Jain said: “One can anyway purchase from, say Meerut, and burst crackers here, the ban is not watertight.”

Lawyer Kshitij Kaushal said, “Ideally online retailers should not do this. It’s dangerous. They can still be caught for violating an apex court order.”