Gurgaon: Police asked to keep eye on bursting of firecrackers

Deputy commissioner Vinay Pratap Singh on Sunday released an order asking the police to depute PCR vans to patrol city areas in order to keep a check on the bursting of crackers.

Several police vans will patrol the city on Diwali night in order to track and report bursting of hours past the stipulated hours. The police and district administration are gearing up to ensure compliance with the Punjab and Haryana high court order banning bursting of firecrackers except between 6.30pm and 9.30pm on October 19, Diwali.

A number of PCR vans will be deployed across the city for tracking people bursting crackers outside the stipulated hours set by the court. (HT FILE)

The move is being seen as a measure to curb rising pollution levels in the city. Deputy commissioner Vinay Pratap Singh on Sunday released an order asking the police to depute PCR vans to patrol city areas in order to keep a check on the bursting of crackers.

A number of PCR vans will be deployed across the city for tracking people bursting crackers outside the stipulated hours set by the court. Compliance with the high court order is of utmost priority to the district administration and police teams across the city will keep a hawk eye on those lighting up crackers beyond the scheduled time.

The court order on October 13 said that residents could only burst crackers for three hours, from 6.30pm to 9.30pm in Punjab, Haryana on Diwali.

At present, the city’s PM 2.5 level is more than 100 µg/m³, way above the permissible limit of 60 µg/m³.

Residents are worried as they find it tough to cope with rising pollution levels in the city.

According to data released by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), pollution, last year, was mostly attributed to the burning of solid waste and bursting of crackers. The level of pollutants such as carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbons (HC), particulate matter (PM), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and sulfur dioxide (SO2) was found to be abnormally high.

“Keeping all this in mind, bursting of crackers has been limited to only three hours this Diwali. The administration has urged residents to help in our fight against pollution and improve the environment,” a spokesperson for Gurgaon administration said.

Earlier, on October 9, the Supreme Court ordered a temporary ban on the sale of firecrackers in Delhi-NCR region during Diwali this year, inviting mixed reactions from across the society.