The District’s Station House Officers (SHOs) have been directed to take immediate action against vendors of crackers and explosives. The spike in sales of Chinese matchstick firecrackers, locally made firecrackers, and firecrackers has not been stopped by the restriction on their use.
All throughout the day, individuals may be observed in the city’s streets and neighborhoods bursting Chinese match crackers, which occasionally sparks minor altercations.
The police appear to be unable to stop the sale of firecrackers, despite their best efforts. A number of Chinese match crackers have been purchased by some individuals in an attempt to annoy the locals on Shab-e-Barat, which is this coming Sunday, February 25.
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Chinese match crackers come in a package priced at Rs 30 and contain 20 to 25 tiny match crackers each. Even though their parents are stopping them, a lot of kids and students are occupied with their own pocket money to buy these crackers.
In the city’s street marketplaces, merchants persist in offering crackers and phuljari (sparklers) for sale despite the ban. Sales of fireworks are made in secret, to acquaintances only.
The wholesale market for both domestic and Chinese match firecrackers is located in Nirankari Bazaar, which is sandwiched between the City and Ganj Mandi police stations. The traders of nearby tehsils of Murree, Kotli Sattian, Kahuta, Gujar Khan, and Taxila are even buying fireworks from Nirankari Bazaar through recommendations and relationships. Local retailers are not an anomaly.
There are rumors that wholesalers have a sizable number of fireworks stashed in adjacent warehouses, and they plan to covertly deliver these items to retailers. It is also said that children have procured a significant amount of ammunition and set up guns for heavy airstrikes on Shab-e-Barat.