What happened: Single source. This report rests on one newspaper account of an official meeting, and we could not find a second independent report at the time of filing. The Raebareli district administration will give out application forms for temporary firecracker shops on Tuesday, 3 November 2026. District Magistrate Sarnit Kaur Broca chaired a meeting at the Collectorate hall that fixed the sites, the timetable and the safety rules. City Magistrate Ram Autar said forms will be handed out from 10 am to 2 pm IST at the arms clerk’s desk in the Collectorate. Filled forms must be returned between 2 pm and 6 pm IST on the same day. If there are more applicants than shops, a lottery will be held in the Collectorate hall on 4 November from 2 pm to 4 pm IST.
Why it matters: In the city, shops may come up only at four sites. These are the GIC second ground, the electricity department ground at Gora Bazar, the open ground of the ITI near Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, and Gadhi Mutawalli beside the Munshiganj bypass. In rural areas, shops will be allowed only at spots marked by the administration. The City Magistrate will issue licences in the city, and the SDM of each tehsil will do so in rural areas. Every shop must stand under a tin shed. Tents, kanat and cloth are banned. Shops must be at least 3 metres apart, and no minor may run a shop. No temporary shop will get a power connection. Each shop must keep at least 200 litres of water, a fire extinguisher and buckets of sand. These rules affect small traders and seasonal sellers who earn much of their festival income in the week before Diwali on 8 November. They also affect families near busy markets, where loose stocks of crackers raise the risk of fire. ASP Pawan Gautam, Joint Magistrate Ayush Agrawal, SDMs, circle officers and trade body office bearers attended the meeting.
Honest opinion: A single day for forms, with a lottery the next day, leaves traders very little time. Anyone who misses Tuesday may lose a stall for the season. Demand is likely to exceed supply again. In October 2025, Amar Ujala reported that 330 forms were given out for 175 shops in the city. Fixed sites and the spacing and water rules address the main risk, which is a fire spreading through a crowded market. The report does not say how many shops each site will hold or what fee applies. Expect police checks on unlicensed sellers to grow over the next week. Our confidence in this view is medium.
What you should do: If you plan to sell crackers in the city, reach the arms clerk’s desk at the Collectorate between 10 am and 2 pm IST on 3 November and return the form by 6 pm IST. Ask at the desk which documents you must attach, as the report does not list them. In rural areas, contact your tehsil SDM office. If you are buying, buy only from licensed shops at the marked sites, and dial 112 in any fire emergency.
Sources
Amrit Vichar, 2 November 2026, 2:01 PM IST, https://www.amritvichar.com/uttar-pradesh/raebareli/raebareli-news-know-when-to-get-the-forms-for-setting/article-597983
Amar Ujala (background, 2025 figures), 15 October 2025, https://www.amarujala.com/uttar-pradesh/raebareli/330-forms-distributed-for-175-firecracker-shops-raebareli-news-c-101-1-slko1033-142924-2025-10-15
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