SWABI, Oct 11: The use of firecrackers has become a nuisance as more and more children are being reported to have fallen victim to it. Many people have been demanding that the local administration crack down on the suppliers and dealers of firecrackers.

Ahmed Ali, a 10-year-old boy, lost an eye when a firecracker exploded near him in the Bamkhel village here three days ago. He said that he was playing in the street when his cousin threw a firecracker on the ground. Hit in the face by pieces of the exploding cracker, he was taken to the hospital where doctors told Ali’s father that his son had lost an eye.

Social workers and Ulema told Dawn on Thursday that the police had completely failed in taking adequate action against the dealers and suppliers of firecrackers and its unabated use in residential areas was disturbing the people.

Raj Wali Khan, a social worker, said that saying prayers with concentration had become difficult due to the increasing use of firecrackers. He said that appeals made to the district administration to take action against its dealers had been ignored.

Qari Ashraf, secretary of the Anjuman Ulema-i-Kiram, a local organisation of clerics, said that the entire district echoed with the sound of firecrackers on festivals, particularly Eid. He said: “Chinese firecrackers have flooded the market and they are available everywhere.”

The NWFP government has announced that it has taken steps to stop firing in the air during Eid days and the district governments and union council nazims will be involved in the efforts to control the menace.

Sources said two organisation of traders, the Anjuman-i-Tajiran and Anjuman-i-Dokandaran, did not cooperate fully with the local administration in efforts to stop the use of firecrackers.

However, the office-bearers of the two associations denied that they had violated the ban on the sale of firecrackers.