Ahead of Diwali, Delhi suspends all licences issued for sale of firecrackers

New Delhi: Ahead of Diwali, the Delhi Police on Sunday (November 8, 2020) announced to suspend all licences issued for the sale of firecrackers in the national capital. 

The Delhi Police said that further action will be taken under the National Green Tribunal directions. The Arvind Kejriwal-led government has already imposed a blanket ban on firecrackers, including those branded 'green', between November 7 and 30.

The suspension comes following the worsening air pollution level in the Delhi-NCR region as the Air Quality Index (AQI) continued to remain in the 'severe' category even on Sunday (November 8) evening.

As per the SAFAR app at 10:15 PM, Delhi's overall AQI was at 413, which falls under the severe category. 

Notably, an AQI between zero and 50 is considered "good", 51 and 100 "satisfactory", 101 and 200 "moderate", 201 and 300 "poor", 301 and 400 "very poor", and 401 and 500 "severe"

Earlier on Friday, the overall pollution level in Delhi was at 486 which was reportedly the worst AQI recorded in the national capital since November 2019.

Earlier on Saturday, acting on secret information regarding the sale of illegal firecrackers in the Jaitpur area, Delhi Police had conducted a raid at the Nagar Market in Meethapur wherein a person was found selling illegal fireworks without any license. He was nabbed by the team and 16.3 kg of illegal firecrackers was recovered from his possession. 

The Delhi Police said that they have so far arrested 7 people in connection with selling and bursting of firecrackers.

They have also recovered over 593 kg of crackers.