Pune: Several firecracker stalls have mushroomed across the city ahead of Diwali . The location of these stalls — on footpaths or narrow streets — is causing inconvenience to commuters as well as pedestrians. "It is becoming an issue to even walk on the streets.
In May, there were so many mango vendors who set up stalls on narrow streets. Last month, there were Ganesh pandals, and now, there are firecracker stalls," said Anil Gaikwad, a resident of Kondhwa. These stalls, a few of them without any licences, have popped upnear NIBM, Dange Chowk, Wakad and Hadapsar areas, among others.
"So many firecracker stalls have come up in our area. I take my dog for a walk every evening, and it has become difficult to traverse as we have to dodge the numerous stalls as well as vehicular traffic," said Poonam Shekhar, a resident of Dange Chowk. "I wonder how they get permissions (to set up stalls).
None of them have any firefighting equipment. It is a major challenge. We have appealed to the civic authorities to permit these stalls only in open areas and not near housing societies," Dattatray Deshmukh, president of the Pimpri Chinchwad Housing Societies Federation, said.
Acting on complaints from residents, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has swung into action to crack down on illegal firecracker stalls in the city. "We took action on some illegal firecracker stalls in Hadapsar. We have been acting on complaints and are also conducting surveillance to take action and fine them," s.
