An unbridled tryst with firecrackers

On Diwali night, Delhi saw the Supreme Court's curbs on firecracker use reduced to little more than a formality.

- Karn Pratap Singh and Hemani Bhandari

Despite Delhi Police's tall claims of “maximum deployment” and “strict enforcement,” the city erupted in explosions and light shows well past the 10pm deadline, with the revelry and pollution stretching into the early hours of Tuesday-and again later that evening.

The Supreme Court had allowed the sale of only NEERI-certified green crackers for three days, from October 18 to 20, and limited their use to two one-hour windows—from 6 to 7am and 8 to 10 pm on October 19 and 20.

The Delhi Police had announced large-scale enforcement plans, with personnel stationed in neighbourhoods, markets, and public areas.

But by Monday night, the reality was far from those claims.

Delhi Fire Service (DFS) data offered a glimpse of violations - between 12am and 6am on Tuesday alone, its control room received at least 41 fire-related calls linked to the bursting of crackers. Noise-monitoring data from the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) also told the same story, showing decibel levels far above permissible limits in almost all districts of the city.