The festival of lights turned into a night of fires in many cities, as Diwali was celebrated with several hours of fireworks. The police looked the other way during the two-day celebrations as people fired long-range rockets that sometimes found their way into living rooms, onto inflammable roofs, and occasionally set off the entire evening’s expensive stash of pyrotechnics by accident.

Curbs on firecrackers are virtually unenforceable anywhere in the country, more so when restrictions get intertwined with politics. It was left to the Fire Service Departments in various cities to respond to the fallout.

In Mumbai, the personnel answered 333 fire calls on November 9 and 10, of which 168 were linked to fireworks; there was a surge in fires even after the government banned the firing of rockets.

The challenge was........

© Free Press Journal