Diwali is the festival of lights and sound. Every child must be supervised by an adult when lighting firecrackers. If you intend to burst firecrackers this Diwali, as most of you would, pay attention to the do’s and don’ts.
Do’s
• Buy fireworks only from authorized manufacturers. Dry them in the sun
• Store them in cardboard boxes out of the reach of children and away from inflammable material such as a gas cylinder or oil can.
• Never leave children alone while playing with firecrackers.
• Only one person should light a firecracker at a time; others should watch from a safe distance
• Light crackers in an open area, not indoors.
• Always use a long candle or phujhari for lighting crackers.
• Keep two buckets of water handy. In case of burns, pour lots of water on the affected area.
• For major burns, after putting out the fire, wrap the victim in a clean bedsheet and rush to a hospital.
• If the eye is affected, wash with water for 10 minutes and rush the victim to the nearest eye hospital
• Bursting of firecrackers on public roads and places and bursting of sound emitting crackers between 10 p.m to 6 a.m is banned from October 25 to 28
Dont's
• Don’t light crackers while holding them in your hand.
• Don’t bend over the crackers while lighting them.
• Don’t light crackers inside a container, like a bottle, tin can or overturned pot. This can be very dangerous.
• Wait for a while before approaching crackers that do not light immediately.
• Do not collect leftover firecrackers to make your own recycled version. Don’t carry crackers in your pocket.
• Don’t store them near burning candle, diyas or agarbathis.
• Don’t wear synthetic clothes; wear only thick cotton clothes, when lighting crackers.
• Don’t wear loose garments; secure all clothes properly
• Don’t apply cream or ointment or oil on a burnt area.
• Don’t light flying fireworks if there is a strong wind
Celebrities on Diwali
For me, Diwali has always been about family and cinema. I was hoping to shoot today beacuse it’s considered a uspicious, but the rest of the cast were looking forward to a break. So my family’s come down and this will be my first Diwali with them in Hyderabad
— Sundeep Kishan, actor
I’m home, so naturally we’ll be having a family get-together. We’re also throwing a card party, so we’ll probably be up playing for a while. I generally encourage my kids to not burst crackers. But there will be a few and definitely some candles and diyas.
— Sonu Sood, actor
I’ve gone to Chennai to celebrate Diwali. Having grown up there, it’s going to be really special. I’m also there for the release of ‘Ezham Arivu’ (Suriya’s latest film). Also, we’re going to try and be as eco-friendly as possible and stay away from all the 1000 walas and so on
— Lakshmi Manchu, actress