Security stepped up in Mumbai to ensure peaceful Diwali

Police personnel have been deployed in large numbers in Mumbai and its suburbs on Sunday to prevent any untoward incident during Diwali.

With the ban on flying Chinese sky lanterns during the festival continues to remain in force, police are keeping a vigil to ensure that nobody breaches the rule.

"Police vans are patrolling across the city with DCP- level officers posted inside the vehicles. Security at vital installations has been heightened. CCTV footages are constantly being monitored. We are focused on police's visibility in crowded places to curb crime," an official said.

"Flying of Chinese lanterns is already banned. So we are trying to ensure that nobody breaks the rule," he said.

A few years back, the use of such lanterns had caused incidents of fire in a couple of highrises in the city.

Meanwhile, despite the ban on the use of conventional firecrackers, its implementation is not happening in a strict way.

A member of the Mumbai and Thane District Fireworks Dealers' Welfare Association said that less than one per cent green crackers were sold in the city this year.

In 2018, just before Diwali, the Supreme Court had banned conventional firecrackers and ruled that only green crackers with reduced emission will be allowed to be manufactured and sold in the country in order to control the pollution level.