Firecrackers

A Diwali-day explosion in Chennai killed four as illegal firecracker storage triggered a blast, highlighting India's recurring festive firework tragedies

More than 250 people suffered burn injuries in Delhi on Diwali, with hospitals across the city reporting a surge in cases, mostly caused by firecrackers, while the Safdarjung Hospital, which has the country's largest burn unit, recorded the highest number of 129 cases. After the Safdarjung Hospital, 55 burn cases were reported at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), 37 at the Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) Hospital, 16 at the Deen Dayal Upadhyay (DDU) Hospital and 15 at the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash (LNJP) Hospital. The Centre-run Safdarjung Hospital received 129 burn cases on Diwali days (October 19 and 20), including 111 where the patients suffered minor burns and were treated on an OPD basis, while 18 patients with major burns were admitted, said Dr Sujata Sarabhai, Head of Burns, Plastic and Maxillofacial Surgery at the hospital. Of the 129 cases, 118 were caused by firecrackers and 11 by diyas (earthen lamps). A total of 117 patients were from Delhi and nine had to undergo

Jharkhand is geared up to celebrate Diwali, the festival of lights, with fervour and gaiety on Monday, amid some "restrictions" imposed by the state pollution control board, officials said. People are permitted to burst firecrackers within a two-hour window from 8 PM to 10 PM on Diwali night, as per an order issued by the Jharkhand State Pollution Control Board (JSPCB). Air quality in the urban areas of all the districts ranges from "good to satisfactory this year", an official said, citing the order. The Central Pollution Control Board categorises air quality index levels in the 0-50 range as 'good', 51-100 as 'satisfactory', 101-200 as 'moderate', 201-300 as 'poor' and 301-400 as 'very poor'. The sale of firecrackers with less than a 125-decibel limit has been permitted in all the districts, he said. The JSPCB, in its order, said that violation of its guidelines would invite legal action under sections of the penal code and the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, ...

India's fireworks economy has undergone a significant transformation over the years, shaped by stringent pollution regulations and local bans

Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa on Wednesday welcomed the Supreme Court's decision allowing the use of green firecrackers in the national capital on Diwali and said district magistrates will designate places for their sale. Addressing a press conference here, Sirsa said manufacturers must ensure that no prohibited firecrackers enter Delhi-NCR markets and appealed to residents to use only green firecrackers. The government will hold a meeting at 3 pm with manufacturers and retailers of firecrackers on the matter, he said. This will be followed by another meeting at 4 pm with all stakeholder departments like Municipal Corporation of Delhi, Delhi Police and Delhi Pollution Control Committee. Sirsa said strict monitoring will be done to prevent the sale of banned firecrackers in Delhi and ensure full compliance with the apex court's directions. At present, the minister said, no one has a license to sell green firecrackers in Delhi and the district magistrates will iss

This decision could mark the first festival season with legal fireworks in nearly five years, amid concerns over enforcement and the risk of worsening air pollution

CJI-led bench has allowed the bursting and sale of NEERI-approved green firecrackers for five days during Diwali in Delhi-NCR, with strict time limits and enforcement measures to curb pollution

About 100 quintals of illegal firecrackers worth over Rs 50 lakh have been seized and six persons arrested after an explosion triggered by illegal storage of crackers left eight people injured in a market here, police said on Friday. The extensive crackdown on illegal firecrackers across the city has been initiated after a massive explosion rocked the congested Mishri Bazaar area here on Wednesday, leaving eight people injured and two scooters damaged. Police said the explosion took place due to illegal firecracker storage, and denied links to any terrorist activity. "We have raided simultaneously in multiple areas, including Moolganj, Fazalganj, Govind Nagar and Naubasta following inputs about large-scale storage of fireworks in densely populated areas," Commissioner of Police (Kanpur) Raghubir Lal told PTI on Friday. "After the Moolganj blast, we activated the entire district police. Acting on inputs, we raided several locations and seized huge quantities of illegal firecrackers,

The massive explosion in the congested Mishri Bazaar near a mosque here was caused due to illegal firecracker storage, and not because of scooter explosion which was initially suggested as the reason for the incident, top police brass confirmed on Thursday. In a press conference, the Kanpur Police also denied links to any terrorist activity in the explosions. The CCTV footage reviewed by investigators revealed that the blast was triggered by a cardboard box kept outside a toy shop, not by any vehicles. It occurred in front a toy shop on the Meston Road, damaging two parked scooters and nearby shops and injuring at least eight people. Commissioner of Police (Kanpur) Raghubir Lal confirmed that the explosion was purely accidental and caused by illegal stocking of fireworks. "No evidence of any terrorist organisation or extremist involvement has been found. This was an accident caused by illegal firecracker storage," he said. "We have categorically dismissed the claims falsely linkin

Six persons died and two injured in a fire accident at a crackers manufacturing unit in Dr BR Ambedkar Konaseema district on Wednesday, said a police official. Police suspect that the accident could have occurred due to mishandling at the crackers manufacturing unit. Dr BR Ambedkar Konaseema district superintendent of police Rahul Meena said the crackers manufacturing unit was a licensed one. "Yes, six bodies have been found. We are verifying the details of the bodies. I think it was a licensed unit only," Meena told PTI. Further, he said the injured persons were shifted to a hospital.

At least one person died and eight others were injured in an explosion at an illegal firecracker store room in Odisha's Boudh district on Sunday, police said. The incident took place around noon at a firecracker godown at Jiakata-Chhatrapur under Purunakatak police limits in Harabhanga block of the district. The blast was so powerful that the store room was reduced to rubble. The injured were rushed to the Purunakatak Community Health Centre with the help of locals. "The deceased was identified as Laxmindra Behera (40), of Chhatrapur village under Purunakatak police station area. Eight others were injured in the incident," Boudh SP Rahul Goel told reporters. The SP said a massive rescue operation was launched with the help of local police, fire service personnel, ODRAF, bomb squad, scientific team, and dog squad, as it was suspected that some people might be under the debris. "Huge quantities of illegal explosive substances were stored. The hunt for suspects is going on, and furth

The fire has been brought under control and efforts were on to clear the debris at present, a fire and rescue services department official said

Five migrant labourers were killed and several were injured in a blast in a firecracker manufacturing and packaging unit near a village in Punjab's Sri Muktsar Sahib district on Friday, police said. The incident occurred in the two-storey factory unit located on Singhawali-Kotli road in Sri Muktsar Sahib, Lambi's Deputy Superintendent of Police, Jaspal Singh, said over the phone. The cause behind the blast is under investigation, the DSP said.

Three workers died of burn injuries after a massive explosion at a firecracker factory here triggered a blaze on Saturday, an official said. The sound of the blast in the Nihal Khedi village in the early morning hours echoed in around a two-kilometre stretch. Saharanpur District Magistrate Manish Bansal informed reporters that the incident occurred around 4:30 am and several workers were present at that time. Three workers died due to burn injuries, he said. Upon receiving information about the blaze, police personnel, a forensic team, and fire tenders were rushed to the spot for rescue operations. Three operators of the factory have been taken into police custody, Bansal said, adding that while the unit possessed a license to manufacture firecrackers, the specific types of crackers being made were being probed. Officials fear extensive damage since people were working in the factory at the time and the building collapsed in the force of the blast. Villagers claimed that many ill

Eight people, including two women, were killed and seven others injured in a fire accident at a firecracker manufacturing unit in the Anakapalli district of Andhra Pradesh on Sunday. "Eight people, including two women, died, and seven others were injured in the fire accident. While the injured are being shifted to hospitals, further details are awaited," State Home Minister V Anitha told PTI. The accident occurred at around 12:45 pm, and officials are currently focused on recovering the bodies and shifting the injured to hospitals. Locals are also assisting the police at the scene, a police official said. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu expressed shock over the incident and directed Minister Anitha and district officials to ensure proper medical care for the injured, an official release said. CM Naidu also ordered an inquiry into the incident and asked officials to submit a report to him. YSRCP chief Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy also expressed shock and urged the gover

The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to relax the ban imposed on the manufacture, storage and sale on firecrackers in Delhi-NCR noting air pollution levels had remained alarming for a considerable time. A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan said a large section of the population worked on streets and was the worst affected by pollution. Not everybody can afford an air purifier at their residence or place of work to fight pollution, the bench said. "Several orders passed by this court during last six months bring on the record the horrible situation with which prevailed in Delhi due to very high levels of air pollution...Right to health is an essential part of Article 21 of the constitution so is the Right to live in a pollution free atmosphere," the court said. Unless the court was satisfied that the pollution due to the "so-called" green crackers was bare minimum, there was no question of reconsidering the previous orders, it added. The top court said the orders passe

According to officials, the explosion at the firecracker godown in the Deesa area on Tuesday morning led to the collapse of the structure, trapping several workers inside

Police on Tuesday arrested the owner of a godown near Deesa town in Gujarat's Banaskantha district, hours after a powerful blast and fire killed 21 persons there, officials said. Firecrackers were allegedly stored and manufactured illegally at the godown, they said. Deepak Mohnani, who owns the godown, was arrested by a team of Banaskantha police from neighbouring Sabarkantha district on Tuesday night, Inspector General of Border Range Chirag Koradia said. "We have arrested the main accused, Deepak Mohnani from a place in Sabarkantha," the Range IG told PTI. The warehouse - Deepak Traders - was owned by Deepak and his father Khubchand Mohnani, officials earlier said. The explosion, which occurred approximately at 9.45 am, flattened the godown in an industrial area near Deesa town, around 30 km from the Banaskantha district headquarters. "All the deceased persons were originally from Harda and Dewas districts of Madhya Pradesh," district collector Mihir Patel said. At least 21 ..

The Delhi government on Thursday imposed a "perpetual ban" on the manufacture, use and sale of firecrackers, including through online platforms, in the national capital, according to an official order. Principal Secretary (environment) of the Delhi government A K Singh invoked the "perpetual ban" on firecrackers under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. The ban covers the manufacturing, storage, and selling, including delivery through online marketing platforms, of all kinds of firecrackers and their bursting in Delhi, said the order. The move comes amid Delhi facing hazardous air pollution levels leading to a range of restrictions including a ban on construction activities and entry of trucks in the city.