Jamshedpur, Nov. 12: Diwali, the festival of lights, was celebrated with festive gaiety in the city despite the restrictions on bursting fire-crackers on Wednesday.
The night was lit up with fireworks and bursting of firecrackers continued well over midnight. In some localities, there were competitions on decorative diyas.
Various colonies were decorated with colourful lights. Adults and children were seen lighting candles, diyas in their homes already illuminated by electric d�cor.
The festival revelers also uninhibitedly burst firecrackers along the roads and lanes in their colonies. This year too there was no decline in the use of crackers and traders were seen cashing on even till late night. The police failed to stop sale of crackers in the residential areas.
�It was difficult to sleep the whole night people were bursting crackers and in the morning nobody is bothered to clear the rubbish left,� said Mohan Prasad a resident of Parsudih.
�We need to become responsible citizens. The entire area has been turned into a garbage dump as wherever you walk, you find waste of crackers. This is not a way to celebrate a traditional festival,� complained another resident.
�People had come out on the roads to light crackers.
They were bursting crackers on roads and in streets, but nobody came here in the morning to clean the litter. This only goes to show that our residents are not responsible,� said a social worker.
Meanwhile, when contacted, the local office of Pollution Control Board, said that the air pollution level in the city had increased many times after last night�s Diwali celebrations.
�Since last the night pollution level in Jamshedpur has increased many times and huge amount of toxic gases released by crackers have added to the pollution in the city,� said an official.
On the other hand, the end of Diwali also marked immersion of Kali Puja idols. Most Kali Puja committees took out immersion procession peacefully.