Stray cases of burning of firecrackers reported a day after Diwali

Delhi reported stray incidents of burning of firecrackers a day after Diwali in violation of the Supreme Court order, police said, even as the air quality remained in the "severe" category for the second consecutive day Friday.

Police said it can take legal action against the violators of the court directive "but at the end of the day it is also the responsibility of the public to follow the order".

Several areas in the national capital, including ITO, Mayur Vihar, Dilshad Garden, Shalimar Bagh and Taimur Nagar, reported incidents of firecracker burning.

The Supreme Court had allowed people to burst firecrackers from 8 pm to 10 pm on Diwali. The top court also allowed the manufacture and sale of only "green crackers", which have low emission of light, sound and harmful chemicals.

Police said a total of 40 cases were registered on Thursday in north-east district, including five in Dwarka and five in Rohini, and 13 cases were registered in South East district for bursting firecrackers.

"We received 260 PCR calls about firecrackers from 8pm on Thursday till 8 am on Friday. Some people claimed they could hear the noise of firecrackers while some claimed firecrackers were being burst near their houses. We passed on the calls to the concerned police districts," said a senior police officer.

Another police official said despite constant patrolling and creating awareness, there were violations of the directives.

"We are sure there were more violations than the number of cases lodged but it is not manually possible to monitor every place where norms are being flouted," he said.

"If people are more forthcoming in abiding by the rules for the sake of their own health, the situation can be better dealt with," the official said requesting anonymity.

The apex court had said police should ensure that there was no sale of banned firecrackers and in case of any violation, the station house officer (SHO) of the police station of the area would be held liable and this would amount to committing contempt of the court.

Police personnel were deployed to check sale of illegal firecrackers throughout the city on Diwali, the officials said.

Delhi recorded its worst air quality of the year the morning after Diwali as the pollution level entered the "severe-plus emergency" category due to rampant bursting of toxic firecrackers.

The overall AQI Thursday was recorded in the "severe plus emergency" category at 642, according to authorities. On Friday, the air quality index was 421.