Bhubaneswar: This year, Diwali celebrations in the country will be a little different as the Supreme Court has ordered a partial ban on firecrackers by permitting only green crackers, and has also cut down the time allowed for exploding crackers to two hours.
Police on alert
Police Commissioner Satyajit Mohanty said the rule of two hours for bursting crackers will be enforced by the police in the main areas of the city.
“We will raid markets to check the decibel levels of crackers as per the rule of the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation. We have also released an advisory on this,” he said.
The police are asking the public to limit the use of firecrackers through their twitter accounts. They have also informed the public that crackers can be exploded only from 8 pm to 10 pm.
The police have banned crackers near hospitals, and requested the public to avoid drunk driving and hurting pets and stray animals.
The police are using social media to disseminate messages on the need for obeying the traffic rules, protecting virtual identities by saving passwords and pin codes, avoiding drunk driving, wearing helmets etc.
The Commissionerate Police Sunday raided illegal firecracker manufacturing units in Trilochanpur village in Cuttack district and seized a huge cache of crackers and explosive chemicals.
Cracker sellers confused
Nilabandhu, the owner of a firecracker shop at the Baramunda Ground, said they have no objection regarding the timing of bursting crackers as people usually fire crackers only for a few hours. But he said that restricting sales to only green crackers had hit the sales. “This year I had procured less crackers than last year and that too only low volume ones,” he added.
Another shopkeeper Suraj said that limiting the time will not stop people from toning down Diwali celebrations as it is a traditional festival. Moreover, exploding crackers is integral to the festival of lights. He said he hopes business will zoom by Tuesday and Wednesday.
Ghana Bhai, another cracker seller, said the two-hour limit for bursting crackers is good as it will reduce air pollution. But he doubted whether the decision will stop people from limiting cracker use. He said the sales of crackers can be assessed only in the last two days before Diwali.
Diyas still popular
Meanwhile, people are busy buying diyas (lamps) of different shapes for Diwali. Potter families from several states are participating in the expo selling diyas.
Traditional diyas are still popular according to Nityananda, a potter from Khurda, even though the market is flooded with designer LED lights and cheap Chinese products. This was evident at the annual terracotta exhibition ‘Mruttika,’ where potters and artisans had brisk business. Customers are spoilt for choice as there are a huge variety of clay and terracotta diyas, and home utility items from across the state on display.
“I have been coming to the exhibition before Diwali for many years, and sales have been increasing year after year. People have been asking for new designs and purchasing diyas in bulk. Buyers now prefer traditional diyas than electric lights,” said Subodh of Jagatsinghpur.
BPIA request
Authorities of Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) here have urged the people to refrain from lighting rocket firecrackers within 20 km radius of the airport. In a notification issued Monday, the airport authorities have urged the people to avoid lighting Akashdeep and rockets within 20 km radius of the airport as it could pose a threat to the airport and flights. Currently, 42 flights operate from Bhubaneswar to eight cities in the country and one to Kuala Lumpur.