Chikkamagaluru district administration conducted a special drive on those who kept stock of firecrackers without permits and booked three cases on Wednesday. The administration seized firecrackers worth ₹7.6 lakh.
The drive was conducted by a team of officers led by Assistant Commissioner of Chikkamagaluru H.D. Rajesh. The team, which included police, found firecrackers stored at three different locations in the city. It found 1,000 kg of firecrackers, worth over ₹4 lakh, kept at a godown near Vijayadurga Temple at Halenahalli. Around 684 kg of firecrackers worth ₹3.5 lakh were found at a godown at Sharief Galli. In a shop on B.M. Road, another 25 kg of firecrackers were found. The shopkeepers had not obtained the necessary permits to keep the stock.
Vikram Amathe, Superintendent of Police of Chikkamagaluru, said that three cases had been booked under the relevant sections of the Explosives Act, 1884, and Section 286 of the IPC (negligent conduct with regard to explosives). He has also appealed to the public to use only green crackers.
