Bhubaneswar, Oct. 25: Police restrictions on the location of temporary firecracker shops have landed traders in trouble because of the lack of free spaces here.

What has hit city traders is the norm that bars them from setting up firecracker shops within 50-metre radius of residential areas or roads.

This year, the police had laid down the guidelines before granting temporary licence to these cracker shops. According to the norms, the cops will ensure that the traders maintain a distance of three metres between two shops, and the kiosks cannot come up within the radius of 50 metres either from residential areas or roads.

"The doors of each shop should not face each other. The floor area of each shop should be limited to 10 to 12sqm. Under no circumstances, 50 shops can come up in a particular cluster," said a senior police official.

However, the "stringent" fire safety norms, though necessary, have not gone down well with the firecracker traders, who apprehend loss due to the lack of such free space to set up their kiosks.

Police sources said two such free spaces - Saheed Nagar puja ground and Nayapalli puja ground - failed to obtain no objection certificate from the fire officer as both the vacant spaces are located beside the road. Similarly, shopkeepers intending to set up kiosks at Lakshmisagar, Kharavela Nagar, Chandrasekharpur and Badagada are also finding it difficult to get a place to set up their units.

According to the rules, the applicants need to apply to the police before setting up the cracker shops. The applicant also needs to get a no objection certificate from the local police station, fire officer, assistant electrical inspector and the municipal authorities.

"We have already deposited Rs 2,600 with the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation for the shop. We have been selling crackers at Nayapalli for the past five years. I have already procured crackers worth Rs 5 lakh. But with the stringent norms in place, we will not get a licence from the police. It is difficult to find a vacant space, 50 metres away from a road and a residential area at Nayapalli. I apprehend that I may not get the temporary licence this year," said Rajesh Sahu, an applicant.

The applicants also alleged that the police should have earlier alerted the temporary kiosk owners about the guidelines. "This is a seasonal business, and most of us have already invested lakhs of rupees for procuring crackers. Diwali is five days away, and under these circumstances, we will not be able to set up our kiosks. This will affect us badly," said Rakesh Panda, who has applied for a licence at Saheed Nagar puja ground.

The norms had been in place since 2008. But this year, the police decided to be strict with the norms after the Nayagarh cracker unit explosion claimed six lives last month.

Deputy commissioner of police Satyabrata Bhoi said no-objection certificates from the fire officer was must to get licences. "We will strictly implement the norms," he said.

The identified spaces include the Kishore Club ground in Capital Police Station jurisdiction and the Baramunda puja ground in Khandagiri police limits. Besides, temporary kiosks can come up at the Damana government land near Brindaban Garden and Niladri Vihar in Chandrasekharpur police limits.