Cracker ban: 25 held for crossing the limit in city

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 20

As many as 56 cases have been registered for violation of orders on bursting and sale of crackers in the city. A total of 38 persons were arrested since Tuesday for flouting the orders of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

According to the police, 25 persons were arrested for bursting crackers in violation of the timings fixed for the purpose i.e. 6.30 pm to 9.30 pm. Besides, 13 persons were arrested for selling crackers without licence. A total of 111 kg of crackers were seized from them. 

The remaining 18 cases were registered against unknown persons for bursting crackers beyond the permissible time limit.

The police control room (PCR) received as many as 8,818 calls on Diwali night, according to the data provided by the police. It is far more than about 5,700 calls received last year. Out of the calls received this year, 162 were related to quarrels, 31 pertained to accidents, 12 were linked with fire incidents, nine concerning noise pollution and 289 miscellaneous.

The police claim that 1,500 cops were on duty between Tuesday and Thursday. While 830 cops were from police stations/units, about 400 belonged to the traffic wing and 180 deployed with PCRs. PCR vehicles were stationed at 503 spots in the city as compared to 414 last year. As per information, 59 Gypsies were on the task along with 24 Cheetah motorcycles. 

No major untoward incident was reported from the city. While traffic snarls were reported in the days preceding Diwali, the day itself did not witness any major snarl-up. While traffic cops were deployed at various spots and nakas were set up early in the evening, the flow of traffic remained smooth.

While the number of PCR calls received on Diwali this year was higher than the last year, residents complained that the number ‘100’ was mostly unavailable. 

Gurjasjit Singh, a resident of Sector 44, said he had to dial 100 several times before finally getting connected with the police control room. “First, I got the answer that the number does not exist. I made a number of attempts before my call was through,” he said.