With Diwali festivities approaching, the Yogi administration in Uttar Pradesh’s Gorakhpur has granted permission to set up 200 firecracker shops in the city. Traditionally, shops are set up in Champa Devi Park. This time around, along with Champa Devi Park, firecrackers shops will be set up in Digvijaynath Park near Lake View, a report published in Jagran said.
About 100 shops will set up at each of the aforementioned locations. The decision to set up shops at Digvijaynath Park was taken keeping in mind COVID-19 protocols and to avoid crowding of people. It is being speculated that the administration will grant permission to set up firecrackers shop at 12 locations in the city so that COVID-19 guidelines can be followed and crowds can be managed.
With the coronavirus cases raging across the country, there was uncertainty among people of Gorakhpur regarding the setting up of firecracker shops. The anxious merchants who set up the shops annually kept approaching the district administration for many days to seek greater clarity on whether they will be allowed to put up their shops. The administration granted permission to set up the shops after Dussehra. Based on the inputs of the Chief Fire Officer of the city, locations to set up firecracker shops were finalised.
Firecracker shops to be set up at 12 different places in Gorakhpur
According to the officer’s report, shops near Boring 10 and areas near Girdharganj Primary School were considered unfavourable. The shops have been allowed to set up at the Government Jubilee Inter College but with some restrictions after the Principal of the college wrote a letter to the administration apprising them about the damage inflicted to the plants in the field. The number of shops in the court club will be reduced by about 50 per cent this year. St Andrews Inter College will also be allowed to set up shops for this year.
The locations where firecracker shops will be put are Court club town hall, DB Inter College, Government Jubilee Inter College in Baksipur, Government Polytechnic Hostel Grounds, Nina Thapa Inter College in Kudaghat, Government Pulled Town in Bargadwa, Janta Inter College in Charganwa, Laxmishankar Khare Park in Surajkund, Dayanand Inter College in Khorabar, Mahant Digvijaynath Park, Champa Devi Park at Planetarium Ground, and DAV Degree College.
Coronavirus protocols to be followed
Though the government has allowed the firecracker merchants to set up their shops, they have been advised to strictly follow the coronavirus guideline. A distance of six feet between customers has been made mandatory at all stores. Wearing a mask is an absolute compulsion. To ensure that coronavirus guidelines are not breached, shops are put up at some distance with each other so that overcrowding can be managed in a better manner.
According to City Magistrate, Abhinav Ranjan Srivastava, this is the first time that the administration has permitted to set up 100 shops in Digvijaynath Park near Lake View. He added necessary measures have been taken in accordance with the coronavirus protocols.
