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Safety concerns: Prayagraj Fire Department’s awareness push on Diwali
“To ensure that no mishap takes place, guidelines will be strictly followed while permitting setting up of shops,” said fire officials.
Ahead of Diwali, the Prayagraj fire department has constituted mobile units which are carrying out regular inspections of places where firecrackers are being manufactured, stored or are put to sale. The teams are creating awareness and are issuing warnings if any negligence is found.
The department has also come out with strict rules for cracker markets. “To ensure that no mishap takes place, guidelines will be strictly followed while permitting setting up of shops,” said fire officials.
As per fire safety guidelines, the temporary shop should be made of tin, asbestos or any other similar material. Each shop should have a space of three meters. The market should be at a distance of 50 meters from residential areas, school, colleges, markets, factories, religious places, officials said.
They said that shops could sell only green firecrackers. Gas and oil lamps should not be used for lighting purposes. No firecrackers should be used within 50 meters of the firecracker markets. The parking of vehicles should be made at 15 meters away from the market and there should be arrangement for a 200 litre drum of water, four buckets of sand and two fire extinguishers by each trader. Boards should be put up restricting smoking and mentioning emergency number 945441854. Minor, differently abled or person suffering from mental illness should not be selling firecrackers.
“All fire cracker traders have been strictly instructed to make adequate arrangements of fire safety equipment. Fire department team will carry out regular inspections at all the markets to ensure that all guidelines are being followed,” chief fire officer RK Pandey said.
Pandey said that fire department teams carried out inspection of permanent firecracker manufacturers and traders across the district. On Tuesday, the establishments of such traders in Prayagraj City, Soroan, Phulpur, Handia, Naini, Meja and Bara were checked.
He said the team visited the places where firecrackers were being manufactured, stored and sold. The fire safety equipment and other necessary arrangements were found in place while the stock was also found to be as per guidelines. The staff at these establishments were asked to remain on alert and were given tips to counter any emergency situation.
He said that mobile teams would remain active across the district and would create fire safety awareness among people and firecracker traders. Help of 2300 ‘agnimitr’ or ‘agni sachetak’ had also been taken to raise awareness among people, he added.
Fire cracker mkts to come up at 13 places
The district administration has released the list of fire cracker markets that will come up at thirteen places in Prayagraj. The temporary firecracker markets have been permitted at Woman Polytechnic ground in Civil Lines, NRIPT premises in Teliarganj, Colonelganj Intermediate College, Mundera Mandi, Lukarganj Ground, KN Katju College ground, Allapur Labour Crossing Ramleela ground, Balu mandi in Teliarganj, ground behind Kalindipurm, DAV Intermediate college, Radharaman Intermediate College, Cantonment Board, Sadar Bazar playground and Anglo Bengali college ground for wholesale firecracker traders.
