Indus Valley Times

NEW DELHI,OCT 19 : As Delhi approaches another ‘breath-taking’ winter soon, Environment Minister Gopal Rai has said that manufacturing, storing, selling firecrackers in Delhi will be punishable with a fine up to Rs 5,000 and three years imprisonment under Section 9B of the Explosives Act.

Bursting of firecrackers on Diwali in Delhi will attract a jail term of up to six months and a fine of Rs 200, Rai said on Wednesday.

“Production, storage, and sale of firecrackers in the capital will be punishable with a fine of up to Rs 5,000 and three years in jail under Section 9B of the Explosives Act,” the minister said, addressing a press conference.

In September, the Delhi government re-imposed a complete ban on the production, sale, and use of all types of firecrackers till January 1, including on Diwali, a practice it has been following for the last two years.

Rai said that a public awareness campaign, “Diye Jalao Patakhe Nahi”, will be launched on October 21. The Delhi government will light 51,000 diyas at Central Park in Connaught Place on Friday.

Rai added that 408 teams have been set up to implement the ban. The Delhi Police has set up 210 teams under assistant commissioners of police, while the Revenue Department has set up 165 teams and the Delhi Pollution Control Committee has constituted 33 teams.

The minister said 188 cases of violations have been detected and 2,917 kg firecrackers were seized till October 16.

BJP MP Manoj Tiwari had in September moved the top court challenging the Delhi government’s ban on firecrackers.

The Supreme Court on October 10 refused to lift the ban, expressing concerns over a rise in pollution during the festive season.

Last year, in the days after Diwali, the air quality index in the capital had risen to a hazardous 463 on a scale of 500. This has been the case for the last few years now.

Immediate measures like closing schools and sending employees to work from home were taken to prevent people from getting exposed to the toxic air.

-The India Today