 "Delhi govt bans manufacturing, sale, storage, use of firecrackers on Diwali")
The Delhi government on Monday announced the ban on manufacturing, sale, storage, and use of firecrackers as part of the action plan to curb pollution.
Environment Minister Gopal Rai said, "We all know that the pollution level increases in Delhi during the winter. The Delhi government has started working on the winter action plan to tackle this. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has also decided to ban all kinds of crackers in the city."
The state government has decided to ban the production, storage, sale, and bursting of crackers. Rai said that instructions have been issued to the Delhi Police not to allow licences for the same. He further said that Delhi has seen a considerable improvement in air quality in the last five-six years, but we have to improve it further.
Last year, the Delhi government announced that bursting firecrackers on Diwali would attract a jail term of up to six months and a fine of Rs 200. It had said production, storage, and sale of firecrackers in Delhi would be punishable with a fine of up to Rs 5,000 and three years in jail under Section 9B of the Explosives Act.