Mumbai: Giving out a strong and clear message of zero tolerance towards banned firecrackers this Diwali, the Delhi Police has seized over 3,500 kilos of crackers from various parts of the city in last week and arrested 26 people for storing them without license. The raid on firecrackers was carried out after the Supreme Court imposed a ban on conventional firecrackers in Delhi-NCR areas on October 23. Last year a plea was filed by children following the rising levels of air pollution during Diwali 2017 that had led to a state health emergency.
Delhi police has seized 3847.77 kg of fire crackers in Delhi this year. 29 cases have been registered and 26 people have been arrested. pic.twitter.com/7V2rKVbVrw
— ANI (@ANI) November 5, 2018
The police seized 1,045 kg firecrackers from Shahdara, 1,688 kg from west Delhi, 659 kg from north Delhi, 227 kg from east Delhi, 72 kg from south-east Delhi, 96 packets from outer Delhi, 54 kg from northeast Delhi, 37 kg from Dwarka and 64 kg of firecrackers from Delhi’s southwest district so far. The highest number of cases were registered in West Delhi (8) followed by North-East Delhi (5). Giving details, the police official said out of the 29 cases registered, three cases were filed in east Delhi and three persons were arrested, while three cases were registered in north Delhi in which three persons were arrested.
As per the Supreme Court’s conditional ban on firecrackers, only green or eco-friendly crackers are allowed in the national capital territory. ‘Green Crackers’ – as explained by the Supreme Court in its guidelines for this Diwali refers to fireworks that produce low emissions and have less decibels. Such crackers are free of harmful components, like Barium, Aluminum and Chromium that are generally used in firecrackers to get different colours. While aluminium, that is used as fuel in fireworks to give white sparkle, cause skin problems, Barium Nitrate used for green colour can lead to respiratory problems.
Also Read: Pollution Free Diwali: Ditch Regular Earthen Lamps And Switch To Eco-friendly Diyas
While the ban on polluted firecrackers is only confined to Delhi-NCR region, other regions have also come out with stringent measures to comply with other guidelines of the ban. To effectively implement the 2-hour window given by the apex court to burst crackers, police department in metro cities like Mumbai, Kolkata and Ahmedabad will take stringent actions against people who fail to abide by the time limit. Barring Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, all the other cities are expected to follow the 8pm to 10pm window.
On November 5, the Maharashtra government issued a circular that stated all the police officials will be authorised to take an on the spot fine from violators. The police will patrol the residential areas and also monitor CCTV footage to track those violating the rules.
Meanwhile, the police departments in Kolkata and Ahmedabad will directly arrest people who don’t follow the time limit. The Bidhannagar Police will invoke Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 188 for disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant. Likewise, with an aim to enforce the Supreme Court guidelines to celebrate an eco-friendly Diwali, the Ahmedabad City Police will patrol the city round the clock on Diwali night and citizens who burst crackers outside the allotted time-slot will be booked under Indian Penal Code Section 188 that invites one-month jail and a fine Rs. 200 or under section 135 of the Gujarat Police Act that mandates four months to one year of imprisonment.
Also Read: Delhi Turns Into A Gas Chamber Ahead Of Diwali
NDTV – Dettol Banega Swachh India campaign lends support to the Government of India’s Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM). Helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan, the campaign aims to spread awareness about hygiene and sanitation, the importance of building toilets and making India open defecation free (ODF) by October 2019, a target set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, when he launched Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in 2014. Over the years, the campaign has widened its scope to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and menstrual hygiene. The campaign has also focused extensively on marine pollution, clean Ganga Project and rejuvenation of Yamuna, two of India’s major river bodies.
