The Mumbai Fire Brigade received 280 calls related to fire, including 79 due to firecracker bursting, during this year`s Diwali period between November 9 and 15, reported the PTI. 

Diwali was celebrated nationwide on November 12 this year, while `Diwali padwa`, also called `Balipratipada`, which fell on November 14, was celebrated with great fanfare across Maharashtra.

“The 79 calls were high when compared to 65 in 2021 and 37 in 2022. Of the 280 calls, two calls were classified as level one, which needs deployment of at least four fire tenders, while one was designated level two, resulting in eight fire engines being sent to the spot,” an official said, as per the PTI.

The 79 calls included 27 on November 12 on the day of Diwali, 19 on November 14 and 13 on November 13, he said.

While 78 calls were received on November 12, a total of 68 were received on November 13 and 43 on November 15, as per MFB data.

During this period, a 95-year-old woman died in a blaze in a 11-storey building in Vile Parle in the western part of Mumbai, while four persons were injured in separate incidents, the official said, as per the PTI.

On the day of Laxmi Puja, the city saw 27 fires, including one caused by a rocket that flew into the balcony of a 13th floor flat in Jogeshwari West, officials said.

The high number of calls related to firecracker bursting came despite strict directives from the Bombay High Court in view of the deteriorating air quality of the metropolis.

Mumbai Police had on November 13 said that it registered as many as 784 cases in two days for alleged violation of Bombay High Court order on bursting firecrackers and air pollution.

According to the police, Mumbai was witnessing deteriorating air quality and rise in air pollution and during Diwali many people in the city burst firecrackers that may add to the rise in rise pollution, the Bombay High Court had recently passed an order issuing time frame for bursting firecrackers in the city.

“The police stations in the city also took actions against those violating the norms set by the court and registered as many as 784 cases in which action was taken against 806 people between November 10 to November 12,” an official had said.

(with PTI inputs)

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