Diwali special: Think twice before having a blast, you may land up in jail

The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) has decided to “defuse” noisy firecrackers this year.

The board has prepared a list of noisy firecrackers and has sought help from the explosives department, which works under the Union ministry of chemicals and fertilisers, and the police to curb noise pollution during Diwali.

“Last year, we conducted a series of tests to measure the decibel levels of various firecrackers,” Milind Mhaiskar, MPCB member secretary, said. “We identified at least 15 brands of firecrackers that go way above the permissible limits. This year, a team of MPCB officials along with the police and officials from the explosives department will keep a watch on all the four days.

Anyone found lighting firecrackers that go beyond the permissible decibel level will be detained.”

Mhaiskar said the board has been carrying out a campaign for the past several days to make people aware of the ill-effects of noisy firecrackers. MPCB cannot directly take any action against manufacturers as they are mostly based in Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu.

“But we can certainly take action against distributors for stocking and selling such noisy firecrackers.” In industrial areas, the permissible limit is 75 decibels; in silence zones it is 40 decibels.

“On average, most firecrackers go up to 96 decibels,” he said. 

Apart from Mumbai, tests have been carried out in 12 cities, Mhaiskar said. “In Mumbai, prominent spots such as Colaba, Mantralaya, Chembur, Prabhadevi, Powai, Sahar, Borivli and Juhu were included in our tests.”