VEHARI, Aug 26: Manufacturers of fireworks in the district are active these days as people are turning to small, makeshift shops and factories just ahead of the Shab-i-Baraat.

Complaints by a number of concerned citizens and fire incidents in the past have not stirred the law enforcers into action. It is alleged that the police let off the hook those involved in the business after taking hush money.

A survey conducted by Dawn revealed that the illegal business had picked up in almost all parts of the district, especially Luddan, Machiwal, Gagoo, Mitroo, Grahamore, Chakrala, Karampur, Tibba Sultanpur, Jallajeem, Dokota, Muslim Town, Pipli Adda and Thingi Colony, where dozens of small fireworks factories are working day and night to make money.

At Dokota, two children were burnt to death when explosive material caught fire at a house-cum-factory on the eve of Shab-i-Baraat last year. During the last one year, several people, including children, had been injured in various parts of the district while preparing or playing with fireworks.

Among the firework manufacturers are women and children who earn some income to help their families out, but are hardly conscious of the occupational hazards. The factories, set up in mud-houses in the residential areas, take no safety measure as poor families play with fire while preparing crackers and other material.

A firework factory owner told this correspondent that he had to bribe the police or any district administration official who raided his workplace. Most of the manufacturers and sellers had found an answer to the raid against the illegal trade, if there was any, he said.

Corroborating the fact, another factory owner said his factory was sealed on the Independence Day, but he managed to restart business after paying Rs3,000 to the official concerned.

He said most factory owners hired children between 10 and 15 years of age and paid them Rs30 to Rs50 as daily wages. Occasions like the Independence Day and the Shab-i-Baraat gave a fillip to the otherwise low-key business, he added.

A district government official said a vast majority of the factories had no permission or licences as they did not fulfil requirements for running the business.

The owners mostly did not adopt any safety measure while manufacturing fireworks and most of the factories also stored explosives much more than the quantity allowed.

Annoyed at open display and use of fireworks in every nook and cranny, a number of people have submitted applications to the authorities concerned to check the practice, but all their efforts have proved futile.

They have demanded that the provincial government should take stock of the situation and implement ban on the manufacture and sale of fireworks.