Ahead of the Deepavali festival, the Chennai police have issued certain guidelines to sellers of fire crackers asking them to comply with court orders and licensing conditions.
In a press release, Commissioner of Police T. Rajendran said the Madras High Court in its order on 29.6.2006 had directed that fire crackers should not be sold or stored on roads, pavements and public places during the festival season. Any person violating the condition would be prosecuted.
Further, the conditions for temporary shops under Rule 84 of the Explosives Rules, 2008, such as storing of fire crackers in a shed made of non-inflammable material, three-metre distance between two shops, ban on display of fireworks within 50 metres of the shed, should be strictly adhered to.
Mr. Rajendran drew the attention of the people to Section 74 of the Chennai city Police Act which states that lighting or bursting or discharge of fire works in any public place, street or thoroughfare is an offence. He said public should avoid bursting ‘Atom Bombs', “Aeroplane' and ‘Rocket' variety of fire crackers, particularly within 1-km radius of hospitals and nursing homes.
Crackers should be burst only between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. and as per Rule 89 of the Environment Protection Act no fire cracker which produces more than 125 decibel of sound should be manufactured or used, the release said.
