Chandigarh, October 26
The UT Administration’s directives on bursting of green firecrackers within the stipulated time period of 8 pm to 10 pm on Diwali went for a toss on Monday.
Firecracker celebrations started way ahead of the window and continued till late into the night in the UT. Two persons were arrested in the city for violating the time norms.
Air quality turned ‘very poor’ after 6 pm on Diwali with the bursting of firecrackers. However, the air quality index (AQI) improved to the ‘satisfactory’ level after 6 am on October 25.
“There was improvement in the AQI after 10 pm at all monitoring stations and it further improved after 11 pm due to dissipation of the air. The observations made the next morning were again normal, which is a positive sign for the environment,” said a Chandigarh Pollution Control Board official.
