Mumbai:
Few weeks before fire cracker stalls are put up ahead of Diwali festival, residents and commercial unit owners at Arenja Corner in Vashi are opposing the same expressing concerns over safety issue and claimed that the same are illegal. More than a 100 stalls are put up along the busy Palm Beach Road opposite Arenja Corner every year, ahead of the festival. Apart from witnessing heavy traffic daily, the area houses a truck terminal, where close to 1000 vehicles are parked and even a fuel station is also in the vicinity. "There were few cases of fire reported from the stalls in the past two years. Chances are high that if something goes wrong, people's lives will be at risk," a resident of nearby Sector-16 said, requesting not to be named.
Stalls are being put up in the area for past many years now, with neither the stall-owners being aware that they are plying their trade illegally, nor the civic officials realising that they are actually violating the rules of the Explosives Act, by giving permission for the perilious trade without ensuring adequate safety measures. "Why don't authorities at Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) allot a safer place where lesser traffic is seen, to sell fire crackers? Instead of just allowing stalls to operate every year, now's the right time to take stock and ensure that things are done in the legal way. If these units are illegal, why action is not taken against those officials who are turning a blind eye towards it?" the local asked.
When contacted, officials of concerned departments issuing no objection certificates (NOCs) for erecting stalls were only too eager to pass the buck. According to a senior fire brigade official, the responsibility of allotting space for stalls lies with the ward office. "We just see to it that the stall owners follow fire safety norms like having extinguishers installed at their units," he said.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Vijay Patil seconded the fire brigade official. "We are concerned with managing traffic only. Therefore, we see to it traffic movement is not affected by the stalls in anyway. Allotment of space for erecting stalls is ward office's duty. If the office gives clearance in this regard, what can we do?" he said.
When contacted, Vashi Ward Officer Ashok Madhvi claimed that his office acts only after receiving NOCs from fire brigade and police personnel. On asked about allotting space for the stalls, he agreed that the onus was on his office. "If both the fire brigade and traffic authorities do not issue NOCs to the stall owners considering possibility of any untoward incident, there is no way we will allot them space at Arenja Corner," Madhvi concluded.
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