India

Delhi's 2-Hour Cracker Limit Goes Up In Smoke

Darpan News Desk IANS, 08 Nov, 2018 06:06 PM

The Supreme Court's firecracker ban on Diwali was violated with impunity across Delhi and NCR on Wednesday with people bursting crackers till late into the night leading to a thick haze on Thursday morning and air quality dipping six notches below the normal.

The police admitted there were violations, and that they would take serious legal action against firecracker sellers.

The police said it seized over 1,300 kg of firecrackers during the overnight operation on Diwali across the national capital, arrested over 300 people and registered more than 600 FIRs.

The Supreme Court had allowed bursting of firecrackers from 8 pm to 10 pm on Diwali. It had also allowed manufacturing and sale of only "green crackers", which have a low light and sound emission and contain less harmful chemicals.

The court had asked the police to ensure that banned firecrackers were not sold and said in case of any violation, the station house officer (SHO) of the police station concerned would be held personally liable. Any violation would amount to committing contempt of court, the apex court had warned.

"The Air Quality Index (AQI) of Delhi and the National Capital Region between 8 and 9 p.m. on Wednesday was recorded around 150-160. It continued to rise and crossed 250 (severe category) by 3 a.m. It crossed 300 (very severe category) by 6 a.m.," an official of the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) told IANS.

"The AQI index increased because of firecrackers," said the official.

The official said the CSE has not taken a firm stand on firecrackers this time. "But we can says the pollution level was 6.5 times higher in Delhi and NCR than the standard (60) category from Diwali night to Thursday morning," said the official.

Delhiites continued to burst firecrackers on Diwali long after the 10 p.m. deadline. Despite stringent rules, the people managed to buy firecrackers illegally from the sellers in neighbourhood markets.

Violations of the Supreme Court order were reported from IP Extension, Mayur Vihar's Phase-I, II and Extension in east Delhi, Lajpat Nagar in south Delhi, Lutyens Delhi, Dwarka in west Delhi and most of the sectors in Noida.

Watch this video, if this isn't mass contempt of #SupremeCourt, then what is?
Non stop crackers is what am hearing now. Full on. Anarchy. How can u do this #delhi? #Diwali #DiwaliCelebration #DiwaliPollutionTracker #pollution #airquality #DelhiAirPollution #Poison pic.twitter.com/yefONdlN1L
— Deepti Sachdeva (@DeeptiSachdeva_) November 7, 2018

Beautiful night. Unhealthy air. HAPPY CHOKING DELHI 🙏#DiwaliCelebration #DiwaliPollutionTracker #DiwaliSpecial pic.twitter.com/rqe20EGLCa
— Kirti R. Sarkar (@kirtiraysarkar) November 7, 2018

Delhi: Workers of Public Works Department (PWD) sprinkle water in Anand Vihar area to settle the dust as a pollution control measure. pic.twitter.com/DsD88wp9oJ
— ANI (@ANI) November 8, 2018

#DiwaliPollutionTracker Two birds afraid of the sound and smoke, must be wondering what happened to #humans for today. pic.twitter.com/UPW41pOXl5
— Vinay (@vinay_ism) November 7, 2018

Shame on us... look at these poor souls .. They look so petrified with diwali crackers noise. #PETA #DiwaliPollutionTracker #DiwaliCelebration pic.twitter.com/D4TczMvL53
— Manish Srivastava (@manishs13278578) November 7, 2018

#DiwaliPollutionTracker it’s a very big damage to our ozone and atmosphere. Air quality is hazardous. The people who are burning crackers are the same who complain about air pollution. As per 2018 stats india causes 30% of world pollution #changeforbetter pic.twitter.com/63sDF1H7yp
— Suhruth simha reddy (@Suhruthr) November 7, 2018

Well done Delhites, well done. We have managed to make air quality measurements irrelevant once again. #DelhiPollution #DiwaliPollutionTracker #CrackerBan @ArvindKejriwal pic.twitter.com/Qozl8ovQiC
— Vishnu Prasad (@imvishnuprasad) November 7, 2018

Some more #PollutionFreeDiwali statistics. As they say, stats don’t lie. #india #Diwali #DiwaliPollutionTracker pic.twitter.com/YvhV5Tp73s
— Vishal Mathur (@vishalmathur85) November 7, 2018

"We received 1,400 PCR (Police Control Room) calls between Wednesday evening and Thursday morning about firecracker bursting. By and large the people did not violate the Supreme Court rules, but there were some incidents. As our police personnel were patrolling the whole night, we booked the violators," Delhi Police spokesperson Madhur Verma said.

Over 700 kg of firecrackers were seized from south Delhi, 140 kg from North West Delhi, 200 kg from Dwarka, 278 kg from South East and 72 kg form North Delhi, police said.

The Delhi Fire Service (DFS) department said it received 501 calls within 32 hours -- between midnight on Wednesday and 8 a.m. on Thursday. The number of calls was the highest since 2007, the DFS said.

The number of calls received by DFS during Diwali was 204 in 2017 and 243 in 2016, 290 in 2015, 211 in 2014, 177 in 2013, 184 in 2012, 206 in 2011, 169 in 2010, 207 in 2009, 158 in 2008 and 184 in 2007.

Chief fire officer Atul Garg told IANS the fire-related calls were received from across the national capital and the peak time was from 6 p.m. on Wednesday to 6 a.m. on Thursday. "A total of 223 calls were received during this period," he said.

Prev Next

MORE India ARTICLES

No Bollywood As This Beauty Pageant Winner Aims For The Civil Services

Mumbai girl Nehal Chudasama, who will represent India at the Miss Universe 2018 pageant in Bangkok in December, says she will start preparing for Indian civil services examinations soon after the international pageant.

No Bollywood As This Beauty Pageant Winner Aims For The Civil Services

Case Of Missing Gold Tiffin Box, Artefacts From Hyderabad's Nizam Museum

A gold tiffin box weighing two kilogram, a cup, saucer, and spoon studded with rubies, diamonds and emeralds were stolen from Nizam's Museum in Hyderabad, police said on Monday

Case Of Missing Gold Tiffin Box, Artefacts From Hyderabad's Nizam Museum

Rs 1.18 Crore Gold Haul At Chandigarh International Airport, 2 Held

In yet another big seizure of gold, sleuths of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) arrested two persons with 3.862 kg of the yellow metal, worth around Rs 1.18 crore, at the Chandigarh international airport at Mohali on Monday.

Rs 1.18 Crore Gold Haul At Chandigarh International Airport, 2 Held

Withdraw Anti-Sacrilege Bills: Ex-Bureaucrats To CM Amarinder Singh

The Punjab Assembly's recent move to pass two Bills proposing life imprisonment for acts of sacrilege on Monday drew the first public condemnation from several former bureaucrats who sought the state Cabinet to reconsider the move describing it “bad in law” and “politically expedient”.

Withdraw Anti-Sacrilege Bills: Ex-Bureaucrats To CM Amarinder Singh

Talks Should Not Be On Name But On Work: AAP's Atishi

The Aam Aadmi Party had rejected reports that it forced Atishi, party's east Delhi Lok Sabha probable, to change her last name because it was "Christian-sounding".

Talks Should Not Be On Name But On Work: AAP's Atishi

Lalu Yadav Wants Ward Shift At Hospital. Reason: Mosquitoes, Dog Barks

After spending a few months out of the jail, Lalu Yadav surrendered before a CBI court in Ranchi on August 30 upon the expiry of the provisional bail granted to him by the Jharkhand High Court for medical treatment.