Rockets Banned across Mumbai, including Chembur, till November 25 after Diwali fire spike
Chembur residents hoping to light up the sky for the rest of the festive season will have to put the rockets away. The BMC on Monday, 9 November, imposed a blanket ban on rockets and other aerial firecrackers across the city until 25 November, following a sharp spike in cracker-related fires over Diwali.
The order applies to public and private spaces within BMC limits, including residential and commercial buildings, terraces, rooftops, balconies, courtyards, parking lots and slum settlements. It was issued under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, and signed by additional municipal commissioner Prajakta Lavangare-Verma as chairperson of the Urban Disaster Management Authority. The order cites the city’s dense population, high-rises, narrow roads and slum settlements, warning that burning debris from skyward fireworks can land on rooftops, balconies and windows and start fires.
The numbers behind the move are stark. Of the 282 fires reported across Mumbai between 6 and 9 November, 200 were attributed to crackers, compared with 80 of 262 during last year's Diwali. On Sunday alone, 142 fire incidents were recorded, 137 of them caused by firecrackers.
Deputy commissioners of police, assistant municipal commissioners and the fire brigade have been told to enforce the ban strictly. Other firecrackers remain governed by existing laws and court orders. The Thane collector has also imposed a similar two-month ban on aerial crackers.