Pune: PMC Issues Guidelines For Diwali Celebrations, Appeals Citizens To Avoid Using Firecrackers 

Mehab Qureshi

Pune, November 10, 2020: With the Diwali festival only a few days away, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has issued Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) to be strictly followed while celebrating the festival amid the Coronavirus(COVID-19) pandemic.

In the light of the pandemic, PMC Commissioner Vikram Kumar appealed, “Due to the continuous efforts of the administration and the co-operation of the citizens, the statistics show that COVID is now under control. For the situation to not go out of hands, the citizens should practice social distancing, use of masks in public places, and frequent handwashing with soap should be adopted.”

Acknowledging the condition of COVID patients, Kumar further said, The smoke of firecrackers can deteriorate the conditions of COVID affected patients. With this in mind, the use of firecrackers in the municipal area should be minimized as much as possible.”

In light of the above, the following guidelines have been issued in the interest of the wider public and for the citizens to be more vigilant and enjoy Diwali.  

1) Firecrackers of any kind should not be set off in PMC owned places such as parks, grounds, tourist places, schools etc.

2) To avoid inconvenience to the infected patients, low noise (non-polluting) firecrackers should be used. Frequent use of washing hands with soap, social distancing and wearing of masks should be followed.

3) Diwali is considered a festival of light. A large number of firecrackers are set off every year during this festival. Therefore, increasing the level of air and noise pollution and adversely affecting the health of the people and animals can be seen for a long time after Diwali. With this in mind, citizens should decide to avoid firecrackers.

 4) Since the sanitizers are flammable, the use of sanitizer should be avoided while lighting Diwali lights and bursting firecrackers. Soap should be used instead of sanitizer when cleaning hands during Diwali.  

5) Public events such as Diwali Pahat events are not allowed and should be organized online.  

6) If you need to go out for Diwali shopping, give preference to less crowded places and take proper precautions.

PMC, along with Police administration, will take strict action against people violating any guidelines as mentioned above. 

Speaking to Punekarnews.in, Rubal Agarwal, PMC Additional Commissioner, said, “I request citizens to co-operate during the time of pandemic and most importantly please follow the guidelines and celebrate with your relatives at home only. Stay safe, stay home.”

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