Deepavali fire safety: Telangana issues 7,601 cracker licences, marks NTR Stadium and Parade Grounds high-risk

With Deepavali on Sunday, 8 November, Telangana’s Fire Services has given out 7,601 firecracker licences and put its crews on alert round the clock. Director General Vikram Singh Mann went over the state’s Deepavali fire safety arrangements on Friday, 6 November, and told officers to stay watchful and make sure sellers follow the norms.

The department gave 8,019 temporary shop licences for Deepavali 2025, 7,516 in 2024 and 6,439 in 2023. Its count of fires, from two days before the festival to two days after, was 164 in 2023 and 95 in 2024. In 2025 it logged 44 calls about fires during the celebrations, one of them a serious blaze at a Sangareddy district industrial unit.

High-risk zones and cancelled leave

A senior fire official said tenders are parked close to the big markets and wherever cracker shops stand in numbers, while motorcycles and smaller vehicles cover crowded neighbourhoods and industrial belts. NTR Stadium, the Numaish Grounds and Secunderabad’s Parade Grounds are on the high-risk list, as are areas with a record of past fires. More staff have been brought in, and those taking calls in the Fire Control Room have had their leave cancelled. The busiest stretch usually runs from 6 pm to midnight.

What shops and families must follow

Shop conditions in Hyderabad district come from the district fire officer, Venkanna. Stalls must stand about three metres apart, with no more than 100 in one area and no stock beyond the permit. Each needs no-smoking boards and a 200-litre water barrel, and where possible two buckets of dry sand. Only adults may sell, nobody may demonstrate a cracker at the stall, and buyers are advised to park about 15 metres away.

Police rules came from Malkajgiri zone Deputy Commissioner of Police Chittaluri Sridhar Goud, who said that under Supreme Court orders bursting must stop by 10 pm on the festival night, and that cases will be filed against anyone who carries on. Shops selling without permission will be seized. Traders must turn away under-18s who come alone, put up the numbers 112, 101 and 108, and install CCTV cameras. Hyderabad City Police orders of 2023 and 2024 set 8 pm to 10 pm as the window. In Cyberabad, the commissioner’s notification gives traders until Saturday, 7 November to apply online for temporary sale licences, and late forms will not be taken.

Mann’s advice to families is to buy from authorised sellers only, burst crackers on open ground, stand well back, leave no child unsupervised and keep water close by. For eye injuries, the LV Prasad Eye Institute has set out first-aid steps. Fire emergencies go to 101 or 112.