Tamil Nadu police has registered over 2,000 cases for bursting firecrackers in violation of the Supreme Court's 2-hour cap during Deepavali celebrations and Chennai's air quality ranged between poor and very poor, authorities said here on November 13.
A four-year old girl child died in Ranipet district in an accident that involved bursting of firecrackers with her relatives.
Sanitary workers, in a special drive, cleared tons of firecracker waste. In Chennai city alone, 210 tons of waste was removed from streets.
Across Tamil Nadu, 2,206 cases have been filed against 2,246 persons for bursting firecrackers by breaching the fixed duration (6 to 7 in the morning and 7 pm to 8 pm) norm of the apex court, a state police release here said.
A total of 2,095 persons were arrested and later released on bail by police. Out of the over 2,200 cases filed, the maximum of 568 was registered in Chennai.
Chief Minister M K Stalin condoled the death of the child and directed authorities to pay a solatium of Rs 3 lakh to her family. Also, he has ordered Rs 1 lakh in assistance to a man who sustained severe injuries in the mishap.
The TN Pollution Control Board said, though the air quality was poor to very poor in Chennai city, the pollution was still lower when compared to last year. In 2023, the lowest value of 207 (AQI-Air Quality Index) was observed at Besant Nagar and the highest value of 365 AQI was recorded at Valasaravakkam.
This may be attributed to a large number of people bursting fire crackers, 'mainly night crackers and sky shots' and a high relative humidity and low wind speed, the pollution control board said.
Also, the weather was not conducive for effective dispersion of smoke.
In 2023, during Deepavali, a 'reduction of 40 per cent' (in pollution, as per the AQI) was observed when compared to 2022, the TNPCB said.
For instance, in 2022, a number of areas in the city had reported air quality in the 'severe' range, which meant a pollution level that is worse than poor and very poor categories.
Deepavali was celebrated on November 12.
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