A massive fire engulfed a market in Bihar's Siwan district triggered by the bursting of firecrackers here on the occasion of Diwali on Sunday injuring at least 100 persons. Police said the fire first broke out in a shop where diesel was stored and within minutes, it quickly blanketed the entire Sheela Market, reported IANS. The police said that over two dozen people were in critical condition and were referred to the Sadar Hospital and Gorakhpur for treatment.
According to the report, the traders fled their shops in panic and sustained injuries after the blaze gripped the market. It added that two firefighters were also injured during the operation to douse the flames.
"The fire incident broke out around 10 p.m. on Sunday night. We immediately rushed fire engines to douse the flame. A number of people sustained injuries in this mishap. They were admitted to the hospitals in Siwan and Gorakhpur," said Feroz Alam, SDPO Siwan, the agency added.
This comes amid growing concerns about the aftermath of cracker burning across the country, especially where it was banned but the same was flouted openly. In the national capital Delhi, the fire services said it received over 200 calls relating to incidents of fire on Sunday (Diwali).
Meanwhile, the air quality in the Delhi-NCR has worsened again after the cracker burning order of the Supreme Court was not followed in the town. According to IQAir, Delhi is the most polluted city in the world with an AQI of 417 on Monday. At 5:00 am, the air quality level in the town was at 514. According to aqicn.org, air pollution was recorded as the worst in Anand Vihar with an AQI of 969 at 5:00 am.
Speaking on declining air quality, Vivek Chattopadhyaya, Principal Programme Manager, Air Pollution Control Cell, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), said that it shows the quality has dipped after the bursting of crackers.
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