Firecrackers trigger accidents across twin cities amid celebrations

IT was not all hunky-dory for the twin cities by the time the festival of lights came to a conclusion on Wednesday.
Representational image.
Representational image.

HYDERABAD: IT was not all hunky-dory for the twin cities by the time the festival of lights came to a conclusion on Wednesday. As many as 34 reported fire accidents that took place on Diwali, across both Hyderabad and Secunderabad, were triggered by firecrackers and diyas. However, no casualties were reported.

“34 of the 42 fire calls we received from 9 am on November 7 to 9 am on November 8 were due to firecrackers. One of them was a major accident, three were medium in scale, and the others small,” said M Srinivas Reddy, DFO, Disaster Response and Fire Services Department. A lot of the accidents were due to the use of ‘1,000-wala’ and ‘2,000-wala’ series firecrackers that fly across larger areas and are more potent to cause fire, Reddy added.

In one such instance, a firecracker caused a major fire in a timber shop at the old grand building in Old Bowenpally. By the time the department received the call, a major part of the wood stock had already burnt up. The flames were brought to control after 8 hours.

Meanwhile, a residential apartment in Secunderabad saw flames and smoke reaching the rooftop after firecrackers ignited the plastic materials stored in the cellar. Additionally, a Diya lighted in a general store in Trimulgherry led to a medium fire accident that left the owner with a loss of `8 lakh.

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The New Indian Express
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