Berhampur: Police have seized illegal firecrackers worth more than Rs 10 lakh and arrested three persons in Berhampur city of Odisha’s Ganjam district.
During the drive against illegal firecrackers ahead of Diwali, police conducted raids at four different places under Bada Bazar police station in the city. During the raids, they seized the firecrackers.
The three arrested persons are Rabi Jena of Old Berhampur, Siba Sahu of Panigrahipentha and M Suryanarayan of Pandit street. However, one person Pitambar Sethi of Rajma Street absconded evading police action.
While Rabi Jena was caught while transporting 9 big cartons of firecrackers in his auto-rickshaw, other crackers were seized from three rented houses. Bada Bazar police have registered four different cases and are trying to ascertain the source of the seized firecrackers.
Berhampur SP Saravana Vivek M said seven cases of processing and transporting firecrackers illegally have been registered in Berhampur police district so far. Those include one case in Sadar PS, two cases in BNPur PS and four cases in Bada Bazar PS.
The SP also requested the people to inform the police if they come across any illegal storing of firecrackers. The identity of the informant would be kept secret, he added.
Meanwhile, 10 traders have started firecracker business in an open ground at Dengapadar under Kukudakhandi block near Berhampur.
Earlier, Balunkeswar Fireworks Traders Association was regularly opening the market of fireworks and crackers from October last week till Diwali every year at Nilakantha Nagar. But it has been closed due to security reasons.
The supply of firecrackers to Berhampur mainly depends on supply from Sivakasi outside Odisha and two places of Ganjam district including Nalabanta and Ankuspur. Fireworks and crackers of many varieties mainly come from Sivakasi while crackers like ‘Tala Photaka’ and ‘Mati Kumpi’ come from Nalabanta and Ankuspur.
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