Several firecracker manufacturers in South 24-Parganas are promising prospective customers in Kolkata home delivery of banned items.
Some traders are saying the minimum order value has to be Rs 5,000 for home delivery, while for some others the threshold is Rs 3,000.
The buyer will pay in cash after the firecrackers are delivered at doorstep.
On Monday, three days before Kali Puja, traders dealing in banned firecrackers in Nungi and Maheshtala in South 24-Parganas told this newspaper that consignments would reach within a day if orders were placed early.
They sent pictures of firecrackers on sale over WhatsApp to this reporter, who posed as a prospective buyer.
“Once you have selected the crackers, we will quote the price of each item so you can draw up a budget,” said a trader from Putkhali, in Maheshtala’s Balaramrpur.
“We will deliver the consignment at your doorstep and you will pay in cash.”
There will be an additional “carrying cost”, which will depend on whether the carrier is delivering the items at one address or at multiple locations on the given day.
On Monday afternoon, a trader who runs a stall on Daulatpur Road in Maheshtala quoted Rs 1,500 for delivering a consignment to a Ballygunge address.
Diwali lamps being sold at a shop in Serampore on Monday. Pradip Sanyal
An hour-and-a-half later, he called up with an offer. “If you want it on Tuesday, you need to place orders now. We will be sending a person to Salt Lake in the morning. The carrying cost will be halved if he delivers a packet to you,” the man said.
Chocolate bombs, double shells and kali pataka, everything is available.
Firecracker dealers said over 30,000 families from Nungi, Champahati and Maheshtala were engaged in manufacturing firecrackers. Almost all of them depend on the Diwali sale for their livelihood.
The desperation to woo customers was evident as all traders this newspaper spoke to offered advice on how to escape police search while travelling.
“Train-e ashben na (don’t travel by suburban trains). Private buses are safer. Autorickshaws are the best bet. We will tell you which route to take from Maheshtala when you return,” said a trader, who spoke of his ‘fabulous collection’ of firecrackers made in Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu.
Senior officers of the Diamond Harbour police district said they had set up naka checks on all possible exit routes to ensure no banned item left the area.
“We have placed men in plainclothes who are moving around posing as customers across Nungi, Maheshtala and Champahati,” said an officer.
“The seizures made over the last few days have sent out signals to prospective buyers who were planning to come down from Kolkata.”