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Diwali Firecrackers Ban
Delhi Police keeps a strict vigil against the use of firecrackers in the city and has been on high alert following intelligence inputs. A total of 377 teams of Delhi Police and government officials have been deployed on ground to ensure blanket ban on sale and purchase of fire crackers in the city on Diwali. "Legal actions will be taken against those caught bursting crackers during the festival," a senior police officer told PTI. Police will also be deployed in civil dress seeing that the ban on crackers is followed. On October 14, the Delhi government imposed a ban on production, storage, sale and use of firecrackers across the city, effective till January 1. Meanwhile, the city has also been on a high alert since October 20 when a blast ripped through a wall of CRPF school in Rohini's Prashant Vihar area. The blast hurt no one but damaged hoardings of nearby shops and window panes of parked vehicles. Police will be deployed in markets which see considerable rush on Diwali such
The Delhi Fire Service received 100 calls of fire-related incidents on the evening of Diwali, officials said here. These calls were recorded between 6 pm and 10.45 pm on Sunday, Delhi Fire Service (DFS) chief Atul Garg said. "The total number of small, medium and major fire-related incident calls is 100 from 6 pm to 10.45 pm," he said, adding that his department was prepared to help. Officials said the Delhi Police was also on alert and helping fire personnel. The firecracker ban was violated in several areas of Delhi as the city celebrated Diwali. Last week, the Supreme Court said its order banning firecrackers containing barium binds every state and is not just limited to the Delhi-NCR region, which is reeling under severe air pollution. Although Delhi recorded its best air quality on Diwali day in eight years, pollution levels were expected to rise due to the burning of firecrackers and low night temperatures.
In Delhi and NCR, cracker ban went up into smoke this Diwali. But, the air quality around this time was cleanest in the last seven years. So what changed this time? Let's find out
Firecrackers were burst by people in many parts of Delhi on Diwali night, flouting the ban imposed on it by the city government. Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai last week had said bursting of firecrackers on Diwali in the national capital will attract a jail term up to six months and a fine of Rs 200. Despite legal deterrent in place to discourage people from doing so, by dusk, residents in many neighborhoods, including some areas in south Delhi and northwest Delhi, had started bursting crackers. Even high-intensity firecrackers could be heard going off on ground, or mid-air. Diwali is being celebrated across the country on Monday. Bursting of firecrackers on this auspicious day is an old tradition, but authorities in the city had said the decision to restrict it was taken after considering environmental concerns and health hazards associated with it. Delhi's air quality turned "very poor" on Monday amid an increase in stubble burning, bursting of firecrackers and moderately .