Diwali shopping: Most firecracker shops in Hyderabad give fire safety rules a miss

HYDERABAD: Over the years, many unfortunate incidents at shops selling firecrackers in the city have occurred due to flouting of fire safety norms at these shops, which has led to loss of life and property. A visit by The New Indian Express to some markets revealed blatant violations of fire safety regulations.

According to the State’s fire safety department, wholesale shops selling crackers in the city are required to have fire safety equipment including fire extinguishers, sandbags and stored water.

Additionally, shop owners are required to be trained to operate the extinguishers. For Diwali, special permits are also given to cracker stalls to sell crackers, but they can only be set up in grounds that are away from residential areas. However, many of these rules are being flouted.

Stalls can be seen next to each other in small lanes, without having any fire safety equipment.

Bigger shops have old and expired extinguishers along with only a small bucket of sand. The owner of a general store situated next to many firework stores at Siddiamber Bazaar in Begum Bazaar warned the authorities would only act when it was too late.

"Today, a small fire broke out at a stall in the market, but it did not change anything. It’s like we are in a market laced with a huge amount of inflammables, waiting for a tragedy to happen," he said.