Mumbai bans rockets, aerial firecrackers in BMC limits till November 25

Mumbai Disaster Management Authority on Monday banned rockets, aerial firecrackers in Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) limits till November 25, according to PTI citing civic officials.

This comes after tree major fire incidents were reported at different locations in Mumbai on Diwali night, gutting several huts, shops, a garage and portions of a commercial building, civic officials said on Monday.

No casualties were reported in any of the incidents. Following the fires, Mumbai Mayor Ritu Tawde issued an urgent appeal to residents, asking them to celebrate Diwali responsibly and avoid bursting firecrackers near residential buildings and on footpaths.

Quick answers to key questions

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QUESTIONS

Rockets and other aerial firecrackers are banned within Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) limits until November 25. The article does not state that all types of firecrackers are banned.

The restriction followed three major fires in Mumbai on Diwali night. The mayor warned that rockets and aerial firecrackers could enter homes, damage property and put lives at risk.

The mayor urged residents not to burst firecrackers on footpaths or in public places. She also asked them to keep away from residential buildings and other occupied structures.

No casualties were reported in any of the three fires. The incidents damaged huts, shops, a garage and portions of a commercial building.

One of the fires broke out at Haji Kasam Chawl, a row tenement on Dr Maheshwari Road in Dongri, around 10 pm on Sunday. Initially categorised as a Level-I fire, it was subsequently upgraded to Level-II, requiring additional firefighting personnel and equipment.

Firefighters took more than nine hours to bring the blaze under control, with operations concluding at 7.23 am on Monday, a civic official said.

Several huts and shops were damaged as the fire spread to electrical wiring and installations, wooden furniture, LPG cylinders, chemical drums and tarpaulin sheets, the official added.

A second Level-II fire was reported at a garage on Marol Military Road in Andheri, near a school, at 10.51 pm on Sunday. Firefighters managed to extinguish the blaze at 3.50 am on Monday following nearly five hours of operations.

The third fire broke out at Skyline Vida, a 10-storey commercial building near Jolly Gymkhana in Vidyavihar, at 11.56 pm on Sunday. The flames spread from the seventh to the 10th floor.

The fire brigade classified the incident as a Level-II fire at 12.52 am. After nearly six hours of firefighting operations, the blaze was extinguished at 5.55 am on Monday, the official said.

Mumbai Mayor's appeal

Meanwhile, Mayor Ritu Tawde appealed to residents through a video message, urging them to prioritise safety while celebrating the festival and exercise caution when bursting firecrackers.

"Our festive celebration should not become someone else's reason for sadness. Safety must be our utmost it," she said.

Referring to the Bombay High Court's directions, Tawde asked citizens not to burst firecrackers on footpaths or in public places.

She also cautioned against lighting rockets and other aerial firecrackers, saying they could enter homes, cause property damage and put people's lives at risk.

The mayor further urged residents to burst crackers away from residential buildings and other occupied structures to avoid accidents, injuries and damage to property.

"Let us celebrate responsibly and ensure that our festivities do not come at the cost of someone else's safety," Tawde said.

(This is a developing story. More to come)

About the Author

Garvit Bhirani is a journalist based in Gurugram. He is a Deputy Chief Content Producer at LiveMint, where he covers national and international news stories, focusing on accuracy and compelling storytelling for readers. <br><br> With a total of six years of experience in journalism, he has previously worked with Vaco Binary Semantics for Google, taking on the role of news curation lead, and reported from the field on health, education, and agriculture stories for 101reporters and News9. He has also served as a content editor for entertainment and news media organisations. <br><br> Garvit holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in journalism and mass communication from Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University and Gurugram University, respectively. During college days, he joined India’s only non-profit student journalism network, where he anchored daily news updates and produced his own weekly show called ‘Data Fix’. <br><br> He was selected for the YES Foundation Media for Social Change Fellowship in Delhi, the Talking Data to the Fourth Pillar residential workshop, and the VOICE Fellowship in Pune. <br><br> He holds certificates in COVID-19-verification reporting, data journalism, food & agriculture, tech policy, media literacy and countering misinformation, and tackling election disinformation courses from Thomson Foundation, IndiaSpend, The Dialogue, US Mission in India, and AFP. <br><br> He can be reached on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/garvit-bhirani">LinkedIn</a> or on <a href="https://x.com/GarvitBhirani">@garvitbhirani</a> on X