Customers select crackers from a shop in Patna City on Friday. Picture by Sachin

Patna, Oct. 21: Sixty cracker shops reopened in the city today after getting temporary licence from the district administration to run business, reviving the frenzy of the festival of lights.

Diwali revellers rushed to the Patna City area — the hub of cracker business — in the afternoon to stock up sparklers. The shops were chock-a-block within moments after they reopened.

The cracker shops in the Patna City area were closed after the district administration made licence mandatory for business. The temporary licences were issued taking into count the demand for crackers ahead of the festival of lights.

District magistrate (DM) Sanjay Kumar Singh told The Telegraph: “Seeing the demand for crackers among the revellers, for the first time we issued temporary licenses to shop owners. Of the 60 shops issued licence, some would be allowed to sell crackers till Chhath Puja.”

The cracker shop owners have been asked to follow certain norms while doing brisk business before Diwali.

The DM said: “The shop owners will have to comply with the explosives act. They will have to store water near shops, maintain distance between shops and stock limited explosives. They have also been asked not to sell crackers capable of making high-decibel sound.”

After the cracker sellers were issued temporary licence in the afternoon, the 2km-stretch in Patna City from Paschim Darwaja to Chowk — housing cracker shops on either side of a congested road — was abuzz with activities. While the shopkeepers were busy arranging their stocks, revellers queued up at outlets to stock up crackers.

There was mad rush in every shop. The cacophony of buyers virtually surpassed the decibel limit set for crackers by the pollution board authorities.

Binod Kumar, who came from Samastipur to the Patna City area to buy crackers, said: “Two days back I had come to this place but not a single shop was open. I returned home empty-handed. I had left my cellphone number with a shop owner and had requested him to inform me once the shops reopened. He called me as soon as he got the temporary licence. I immediately rushed here to buy crackers because their price in the Patna City area is less compared to any other place in Bihar.”

Busy buying crackers, Krishna Singh, a resident of the city, said: “It is always better to buy crackers in advance. I wanted to buy the sparklers last week, but the shops were not open. Today I came to know that the district administration has issued temporary licence. So I rushed here. ”

The cracker sellers were upbeat after getting temporary licence to run their business. Rajesh Kumar, who owns a cracker shop in the Patna City area, said: “Thank God, the district administration has finally issued temporary licence to us to sell crackers. I know we cannot compensate the loss we incurred but I am hoping for a decent business now.”