After a protracted struggle that lasted nearly two months, Jalandhar’s firecracker market finally opened today. Wholesale and retail sales of firecrackers will begin here from Saturday. This time, the firecracker market has been set up on vacant land at the corner of Pathankot Chowk. It is expected that the area will see a special buzz in the coming two to three days, as city residents have been waiting for this market to open for several days.
It is noteworthy that on Friday, firecracker traders received the necessary clearances and licenses from the police administration, after which they set up racks, counters, etc. and began delivering their goods to their shops. By Friday night, traders and their families were seen busy delivering goods to the shops.
This time, politicians also played their “game” openly.
Although every year the firecracker market has been the victim of some political tug-of-war, this time political interference was even more pronounced. This time again, some city leaders were seen playing games with business groups. After losing the open space at Burlton Park, when firecracker vendors tried to find new space in the city, they encountered obstacles everywhere. Since some of the five groups of firecracker vendors were led by leaders from both the Congress and BJP parties, some groups also enlisted the support of Aam Aadmi Party leaders. This ultimately made the market possible.
This time, the issue of firecracker trading even reached the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Traders filed a petition in the court demanding an increase in the number of draws and the allocation of a suitable venue. Meanwhile, the negligence of government and administrative officials was also clearly evident. The market being set up just a few days before Diwali is a prime example of this. Now, it remains to be seen how the firecracker traders’ business will fare in the coming days and how successful this market will prove to be for the city’s residents.
