Pune: City Corporation MD Aniruddha Deshpande files PIL in Bombay High Court to ban firecrackers in Maharashtra

Pune: Aniruddha Deshpande, Managing Director of City Corporation Limited has filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Bombay High Court demanding an outright ban on firecrackers in the state. The PIL states that since the Covid-19 disease affects lungs of individuals, the pollution caused due to firecrackers will be harmful and hence its use should be banned. The hearing for this PIL is scheduled for Monday (November 9).

Several states have banned the sale and use of firecrackers during Diwali this year on the backdrop of Covid-19 outbreak. Taking a cue from these decisions, Deshpande has filed the PIL in the High Court through Advocate Amit Karle and Advocate Asim Nafde.

Deshpande said, “Delhi, Karnataka, Rajasthan states have banned the sale and use of firecrackers during Diwali this year. Pune and Maharashtra also has a large number of Covid-19 infected or recovered patients. The lungs of these patients have been damaged due to Covid-19 and hence they are at high risk due to the pollution caused by the firecrackers during Diwali. Hence we are demanding that firecrackers sale and use should be banned in Pune and Maharashtra too.”

Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) employees, Pune Municipal Corporation employees and traffic police personnel are at the highest risk from pollution due to fire crackers in Diwali. Deshpande also conducts health check-up camps for these personnel every year with the help of Cipla Company.