Ghaziabad / Noida: Some accept orders on WhatsApp and send them to the doorstep.
Some asked them to be stored between Diyas and Diwali decorations sold in stalls, to be disclosed only for “trusted” customers.
For those who look hard enough, getting a firecracker not too tough in Noida and Ghaziabad, no matter the complete ban on sales and use throughout Delhi-NCR.
They were offered from several traders in the Muradnagar and Loni industrial areas in Ghaziabad and shops in places such as Nithari and Nevada in Noida.
A man who sells diwali goods from kiosks in sector 22 in Noida claimed to have crackers too, the disclosure he made to those who survived his initial rejection.
“I have a few packages at the counter.
But they are hidden behind colorful puja items such that they are not easily recognized.
Only if someone looks like an original customer, I agree to show them what I have,” he said.
Most of the shares, he added, is old because Covid and locking has caused a stack.
Fresh crackers have been sourced from Bulandshahr, Loni and Aligarh.
“The usual cracker market is no longer.
We also don’t order large amounts, as we did before from South India (Sivakasi).
There are several manufacturers in Loni which provides small quantities.
Because biscuits are not available on the market, customers are not too picky About brands and quality, “said a trader at Shahdara in Ghaziabad.
Sales, while clandestine because there is no license incurred to sell crackers, it is also slow, registering marginal pickup this season during Karva Chauth and Indian Day play Pakistan at the T20 World Cup.
Cracker traders have boosted prices up, charging 20-25% above the MRP.
Procurement through the network on instant messaging applications such as WhatsApp has helped avoid bands to some extent, some Ti traders spoke to say on Tuesday.
“There are dealers who accept orders on whatsapp.
If the order seems original, the retailer is asked to pay 25% of the amount as a down payment.
Stock is carefully hidden and brought to the NCR in the truck.
This is delivered on the doorstep of the customer or in their choice, “said a dealer.
Where kiosks sell crackers, they are mostly main roads.
For example, those who were established in Nevada, Nithari and Chauda in Noida have a winding ground road to them.
Likewise, stalls in Loni and Muradnagar are also in rural arrangements.
However, some sell crackers openly on the internal road several housing sectors in Noida and Atta Market.
Nobody tells whether they are green or not (prohibited also here), but they have all the ranks, from sparklers to spinning hats and rolls to other noisy Patakha.
A trader said regardless of hard action for years because of air pollution, there was a request for crackers in NCR.
“Crackers are permitted in other areas, but not in NCR.
Prohibition or without a prohibition, there will always be parts of people who will explode.
As a result, illegal crackers have found their way to the black market.
Even though prices are higher, people buy it,” said a seller in Ghaziabad.
The impact of this sale has been striking – for the past few days, the sound of a cracker goes every now even a general because the air quality has dropped.
During last week, both Noida and Ghaziabad noted “very bad” Aqi on almost every day.
On Mondays and Tuesdays, Ghaziabad is the most polluted city in the country.
RK Singh, Ghaziabad District Judge, issued a warning against the sale of illegal crackers.
“On Monday, a member of the Firecracker Association urged us to allow limited sales of green crackers.
But green crackers cannot be permitted in Ghaziabad because AQI is within ‘very poor’,” he said.
Green crackers can be allowed only in areas where medium or lower air quality.
Both Noida and Ghaziabad did not fall in this category.
Sent home or stored in a shop, crackers dodge
