MANALI: In an effort to minimize the losses due to fire incidences and to reduce air pollution, Kullu administration has imposed a complete ban on use of fire rockets on eve of Diwali .

The ban is imposed in thickly populated towns of Manali, Kullu, Bhunter and Banjar and will remain in force till October 24. To stock and sell rockets is also banned. Special spaces have been marked to sell the crackers in densely populated areas of the district.

Kullu deputy commissioner Rakesh Kanwar said that only makeshift shops can be installed to sell fire crackers at marked places and crackers should be sold in open spaces. "A shopkeeper cannot stock more than 50kg of crackers at one time. Each shop should have minimum distance of 15 meters between them," he said.

To run a fire cracker shop, shopkeepers need to obtain a valid license which can be obtained from concerned civic body after completing normal formalities. Administration will keep a close watch over the activities during Diwali and those who will not adhere to the rules will be fined.

Most of the villages and towns in Kullu district are built with traditional Kath-kuni architectural style where timber is used at large scale. These houses are very prone to fire. These days villagers are engaged in collecting and stocking fodder for cattle to use in winter time. Generally villagers stock fodder inside their houses or in sheds close to the houses. Every year dozens of fire incidents are reported from district during Diwali. So, administration has enforced some restrictions to minimize the losses, sources said.

Gift, sweet shops run out of stock

Manali: Fearing adulteration in sweets, people are again buying dry fruits, chocolates and packaged sweets in advance which have resulted in many shops running out of stock, sources said.

Demand for tinned sweets, chocolates, dry fruits, namkeens and other gift items is so high that people are not getting items of their choice in markets of Kullu and Manali. Sources said that last year people could not get packaged sweets and gift items on Diwali day as most of the stock was sold in advance. To avoid those situations, people have thronged markets to buy sweets in advance.

Veena Bhardwaj, a Manali resident, said most of the sweet shops bring sweets from other factories and are not trustworthy. "We always prefer dry fruits and tinned sweets over other sweets. Unfortunately, last year we couldn't get tinned sweets due to shortage of stock in shops and we decided to buy them in advance," she said.

A shopkeeper, Ritesh Guleria, said all shopkeepers in entire Himachal have large demand for packaged ready-to-sale sweet items and wholesalers are not able to meet their demand. "We are not getting what we are demanding. Demand is increasing every year but our suppliers are giving us limited items. A large number of buyers may have to return empty handed on eve of Diwali as stock is selling unusually very fast," he added.

