Following the tragedy which claimed over 100 lives in Kollam’s Puttingal temple, temples not just in Kerala, but also elsewhere in the country are exercising caution in connection with fireworks.
While some have outright banned fire crackers, others are ensuring that rules are strictly followed.
Uttar Pradesh
Lucknow’s administration has formulated guidelines for the bursting of crackers in public functions. People would have to obtain permission from the district magistrate or the Additional District Magistrate under Section 144 of the Cr.PC. Permission would only be granted if the fire department was satisfied that display of fireworks was not a public hazard.
Cracker free Kerala
Several temples in Kerala are going cracker-free for temple festivities on the occasion of Vishu. These include Ernakulam’s Chottanikkara temple, Thirumandamkunnu temple in Angadipuram, Ashramam Sreekrishnaswamy and Pattazhi Devi temples in Kollam. The Kannur the district administration has gone so far as to refuse permission for special celebrations on Vishu at the Cherukunnu Annapoorneshwari temple.
Karnataka
Bengaluru’s Karaga festival will have no fireworks during this year. Theh festival is scheduled to be held between April 14 and will end with the procession on the April 22 midnight. Last year, the temple committee reportedly spent over Rs 1 lakh on firecrackers. This year, a series of cultural programmes have been organaised instead.
The Mahalingeshwara temple in Puttur, Dakshina Kannada district, has decided to scale down its celebrations significantly. Every year, fireworks worth over Rs 6 lakh are burst during the festivities. This year, however, Additional Deputy Commissioner Kumar has said that the display would be permitted only if the police and the Fire and Emergency Department approve of it.