Personnel attached to the fire and emergency services department of the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) had busy nights during the festivities of Diwali as the twin-city reported a total of 36 fire incidents in the past two days. While 27 cases were reported on Diwali night (Thursday), the fire brigade received nine fire-related calls on Friday night.
Fortunately, no casualties were reported. However goods worth lakhs were destroyed due to a fire which occurred at a garment shop in Bhayandar. According to fire brigade officials, in 27 out of the 36 incidents, fire broke out in heaps of garbage because of firecrackers. It has been alleged several firecrackers had popped up amidst densely populated areas in the twin-city. However, chief fire officer-Prakash Borade refuted the charges while maintaining that permissions were given only to those who complied with parameters mandated under the Indian Explosive Act.
The time limit imposed on bursting firecrackers in view of the ongoing pandemic also went up in the smoke as revellers from different parts of the twin-city indulged in high decibel fireworks well beyond the stipulated deadline permitted for bursting crackers. Apart from issuing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), tagged with an appeal to celebrate a cracker-less Diwali, MBMC’s notification cited several guidelines and orders passed by the state pollution control board towards the implementation of the Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules.
Despite these directives, people in many areas continued to burst crackers much after the stipulated deadline, even as the enforcement mechanism chose to remain mute spectators to the brazen illegalities which could trigger a spurt in Covid-19 cases due to air pollution.
