Over 55 injured by Diwali firecrackers in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, about 30 fires reported

Excessive bursting of firecrackers during Diwali celebrations took a heavy toll on many people in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar this year. More than 55 people were seriously injured in separate accidents and had to be rushed to hospital. Some suffered burns on their hands and feet, while others had deep injuries to the eyes.

Nine people were treated at Ghati Hospital. Two had eye injuries, two had shoulder injuries and five had injuries to the hand. Five people were treated at the district hospital, of whom two were admitted and later discharged. Private hospitals also saw a large rush of the injured. At Dr Ramakant Bembde's hospital, 22 people with firecracker burns were treated, and eight of them had to be admitted.

In the Beed Bypass area, a 63-year-old man was bursting firecrackers with his grandson when a fragment of a cracker entered his eye, causing serious internal bleeding. In another case, a sky shot firecracker exploded and split the lip of a nine-year-old child. Sparks burned the hand of a six-year-old child, while a firecracker resembling an anar (flowerpot) fell on a five-year-old child and injured the child's leg.

Many people went to ear, nose and throat specialists complaining of earache and blocked ears caused by the deafening noise of the firecrackers. Heavy smoke also aggravated asthma, cough and breathing trouble. An elderly man had difficulty breathing from the smoke of a snake-tablet firecracker lit by his grandchild. A girl who had stopped using her asthma pump a year earlier began coughing again.

Air quality was also badly affected. Before Diwali, the Air Quality Index (AQI) was between 70 and 84, but after the firecrackers were burst it went straight past 200, meaning pollution in the air rose sharply.

The damage was not limited to people; property was also hit. About 30 fires caused by firecrackers were reported in the city and surrounding areas. They included Malani Traders near Sansthan Ganpati, a house in Jaybhavaninagar, three shops in Phulambri, a gallery in Shreyanagar, a house in Gurusahaninagar in CIDCO N-4, a tree in Aurangpura, a garage in the Ayyappa temple area, and a cooler-manufacturing company at Naregaon Chowfuli. Pets, stray animals and birds nearby also suffered needlessly from the noise of the firecrackers.