Pune's Diwali firecracker ban stays on paper as PMC sets up no monitoring teams

The ban on bursting firecrackers in public places in Pune during Diwali this year remained largely on paper. The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) said no action has been taken so far against those who broke the rules.

The administration says it will act on complaints from the public, but no separate squad was deployed to check whether the ban was being followed.

The gap between the order and its enforcement has raised questions about the civic body's preparedness, especially as Diwali fell on a Sunday. With no special monitoring arrangement in place, officials relied on citizens' complaints instead of going out to inspect.

The PMC issued the directive on November 6. It prohibits bursting firecrackers on public roads, at traffic junctions, in narrow lanes and on footpaths. The restriction also applies to gardens, terraces, balconies and other public places where fireworks could cause inconvenience to people or obstruct traffic.

Despite the order, the PMC had neither begun any inspection nor taken any action on its own by Sunday evening. Madhav Jagtap, head of the PMC's environment department, said the administration had received no complaint from citizens.

Jagtap indicated that the PMC's first priority for now is to inform people about the restrictions, not to begin punitive action. He said the PMC had issued such an order for the first time and that more active enforcement would be considered from next year.

The absence of a monitoring team and the reliance on complaints have heightened concern over how effectively these restrictions can be enforced during the festival.