The State Government on Tuesday imposed a ban on bursting firecrackers in public places this Diwali in wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, a notification issued by the Home, Prison & Disaster Management Department stated. The notification further mentioned that a separate set of guidelines for bursting firecrackers in private places will be issued in accordance with the National Green Tribunal (NGT) guidelines issued on Monday.
As per the government notification, people found bursting firecrackers in public places like roads, bus stands, playgrounds, parks and even car parking lot could be booked under the sections of the Disaster Management Act, which may lead to imprisonment.
The notification comes close on the heels of an NGT order which prohibited bursting firecrackers until November 30 in highly polluted cities, including Jharkhand’s Dhanbad, which is a non-attainment city in the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) of the Centre.