MUMBAI — The Mumbai Disaster Management Authority on Monday slapped an immediate ban on rockets and aerial firecrackers across the metropolis through November 25 after Diwali night blazes gutted huts, shops, and commercial offices.
The clampdown targets high-risk launch points. Under the formal directive signed by Additional Municipal Commissioner Prajakta Verma-Lavangare, the prohibition outlaws flying pyrotechnics across all residential buildings, rooftops, balconies, and crowded slum clusters throughout the jurisdiction of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. Ground-based firecrackers remain permitted under existing court guidelines and statutory safety caps.
Three separate fires erupted across the city on Diwali night. Flying incendiaries ignited multiple blazes within hours, leveling a cluster of roadside shanties, destroying retail shops, incinerating an automotive garage, and damaging floors of a commercial complex. No fatalities were recorded, but municipal disaster teams spent hours battling erratic flare-ups stoked by dense housing.
City authorities warned that Mumbai's urban layout turns airborne explosives into unguided fire hazards. In her order, Verma-Lavangare pointed directly to narrow alleys, combustible rooftop materials, and closely packed towers where stray rockets repeatedly breach open balconies and window mesh.
"The police and administration must certainly take official action in such cases. An explanation is needed," said Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and former state environment minister Aaditya Thackeray, demanding criminal cases against individuals whose stray aerial crackers penetrate homes and set properties ablaze.
Earlier on Monday, Mumbai Mayor Ritu Tawde issued an emergency public appeal, urging residents to halt fireworks on footpaths and near densely built residential quarters.
The BMC order takes effect immediately and runs until 11:59 pm on November 25, with municipal ward officers and local police stations instructed to enforce the prohibition and monitor rooftop violations across all 24 civic wards.