No bursting of crackers after 10pm in Himachal Pradesh this Diwali, says High Court

The Himachal Pradesh High Court also prohibited the bursting of firecrackers within a radius of 100 meters from all hospital buildings in the state

pune, pune diwali, noise level diwali, noise level diwali pune, diwali noise pune, india news, pune news

The petitioner had raised concerns about the inconvenience and discomfort patients had to face during bursting of crackers. Photo for representation

The Himachal Pradesh High Court on Wednesday banned bursting of crackers on Diwali after 10pm in the state. It also prohibited the same within the 100 meter radius of hospitals.

A division bench, comprising Justice Dharam Chand Chaudhary and Justice Vivek Thakur, passed the orders on a petition filed by Naresh Scott, a citizen of Shimla, who raised concerns about the inconvenience and discomfort patients had to face during bursting of crackers. The petitioner’s counsel, Neha Scott, said it wanted to bring to the court’s attention the fact that women and children, especially, were more vulnerable to pulmonary diseases emanating from air pollution.

The bench asked Chief Secretary V C Pharka and Director General of Police Somesh Goyal to ensure compliance of the order. “We direct the state to ensure that firecrackers are not burnt within a radius of 100 meters from all hospital buildings. The state shall also take precautionary steps to prevent the loss of life and harm to property of the general public that may be caused on account of bursting of firecrackers on Diwali,” the bench said.

The court also observed that though Diwali was a festival celebrated throughout the country with fervour and enthusiasm since the time of Ramayana, one should not forget that during the course of such festivities the interests of citizens belonging to the marginalised sections of the society also need to be protected.

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram