PUNE: The PMC has started taking action against illegal firecracker stalls as Diwali is all set to begin. Officials said that these stalls not only cause loss of revenue to the civic administration, but also present some other serious threats, like fire hazards."The Pune Municipal Corporation has given directives for setting up official stalls. Roadside stalls and those without proper permissions will not be allowed," said Madhav Jagtap, head of the civic anti-encroachment department.Several guidelines and safety precautions are required to install such stalls. Documents like no-objection certificates (NOC) must be furnished from the fire brigade and other departments. Open spaces such as public grounds and amenity spaces are given on rent for such stalls.PMC officials said that ward offices across civic areas have been told to undertake these drives in their jurisdiction. The Aundh and Hadapsar ward offices have already demolished 30 stalls in total. Their drive is to continue in days to come.Civic officials said permissions are given based on Bombay high court directives, which aim to reduce the number of stalls in risky locations and to increase fire safety. As per these directives, roadside stalls will not be allowed in residential areas. Buildings with residential sections will also not house firecracker stalls.Kedar Kulkarni, a resident of Shaniwar Peth, said, "The administration should not allow functioning of unauthorised firecracker stalls in residential and commercial areas. Such stalls should only be at designated locations with all necessary safety measures in place. Most unauthorised stalls lack firefighting measures, which is unsafe and may lead to serious mishaps."PMC has allocated 173 firecracker stalls on civic plots through an online auction and generated around Rs 64 lakh. Officials said the civic body used to generate Rs 20-25 lakh per year from offline auctions.In the twin citiesThe Pimpri Chinchwad police on Wednesday sealed three illegal firecrackers stalls in Kiwale and Dehu Road areas and seized their goods. "We had given notices to these stall owners to obtain prior permissions from the municipal corporation and police before selling firecrackers," an officer from the Dehu Road police said.He added that the police further found that these stall owners had not taken any safety measures. The stall owners have been booked under sections 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), 286 (negligent conduct with respect to explosive substance) and 336 (act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the IPC. "We will continue to take such action," the officer said.

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