Time slot fixed, burst crackers only between 6 & 10pm: Admin

Gurgaon: The district administration on Thursday fixed a time slot and issued guidelines for bursting crackers during Diwali, a day after it imposed Section 144 to ward off any protests against the Supreme Court ban on sale of fireworks in Delhi-NCR.

The guidelines say the general public, who purchased firecrackers before the apex court ban, may use the same only between 6 pm and 10 pm. However, bursting of rockets and chocolate bombs are not allowed because of the noise they produce. Also, the use of Catherine wheel, a firework in the form of a flat coil which spins, is banned.

The district administration has also prohibited the use of all firecrackers that generate noise levels exceeding 125 decibels at a distance of four metres from the point of bursting. Firecrackers are also banned within 100 metres of silence zones like hospitals, religious places and courts.

According to the guidelines, bursting of firecrackers is also prohibited within 100 meters of educational institutions, petrol pumps, CNG refilling stations and gas godowns. Moreover, all users of crackers will have to keep a bucket full of water and sand to deal with any untoward incident.

On the other hand, the fire and health departments have been asked to be prepared to deal with any emergency. While fire fighters will have to be on their toes, government and private hospitals have been asked to provide immediate medical services to people in case of any mishap.

Deputy commissioner Vinay Pratap Singh told TOI that the time slot has been prescribed for bursting of crackers in the wake of an appeal by the Haryana State Pollution Control Board to control the levels of air pollution in the city during Diwali. Every year, the city sees a spike in pollution levels a day after Diwali.

"Officials concerned have been asked to monitor areas under their jurisdiction on Diwali. Offenders will face penalty and imprisonment under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986," the deputy commissioner said.