DIMAPUR, OCTOBER 18 (MExN): The Commissioner of Police, Dimapur, has issued an advisory cautioning citizens against the use of banned firecrackers during the upcoming festive season and appealed to all residents to celebrate in an eco-friendly and responsible manner.
The advisory stated that bursting of firecrackers is not only environmentally hazardous but also causes significant stress, fear, and other health-related issues in both humans and animals due to loud explosions and toxic gases.
As per the guidelines, fireworks will be permitted strictly between 8 PM and 10 PM on Diwali and other festivals such as Gurupurab, while on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, the permissible time will be from 11:55 PM to 12:30 AM.
Only Reduced Emission firecrackers (Improved Crackers) and Reduced Emission firecrackers (Green Crackers: Safe Water and Air Sprinklers - SWAS), as prescribed and approved by the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO), will be allowed during the permitted hours. Sale of firecrackers shall be restricted to licensed traders, who must ensure that only permissible crackers are sold.
The advisory also directed that no fireworks should be burst within 100 metres of silence zones, which include hospitals, nursing homes, primary and district healthcare centres, educational institutions, courts, religious places, or any other areas declared as silence zones by the authorities concerned.
Further, the manufacture, sale, and use of joined firecrackers (series crackers or laris), and fireworks containing barium salts, lithium, arsenic, antimony, lead, or mercury, or those generating noise levels exceeding 125 dB(AI) or 145 dB(C)pk at four metres from the point of bursting, shall be strictly prohibited. The advisory warned that anyone found violating the order will be penalised as per the provisions of law.
