Dimapur sees firecrackers before permitted 8 pm window on Diwali

Firecrackers went off in several parts of Dimapur on Sunday evening, hours before the time window allowed by the police for Diwali, Eastern Mirror reported, raising doubts about how well festive-season restrictions are being followed and enforced.

Repeated bursts and flashes were reported from many localities well before 8 pm, when the permitted period began.

What the advisory allows

The advisory, issued by Dimapur Commissioner of Police Aotula T Imchen ahead of the festive season, covers Dimapur, Chümoukedima and Niuland districts. It permits only green, improved or other reduced-emission crackers approved by the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO), and only between 8 pm and 10 pm on Diwali and other notified festivals. On Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve the window is 11.55 pm to 12.30 am.

The order bans joined crackers such as series crackers or laris, fireworks containing hazardous chemicals, and crackers louder than the prescribed noise limits. No fireworks may be burst within 100 metres of hospitals and health centres, schools and colleges, courts or places of worship.

Online sales barred

E-commerce platforms and online marketplaces have been told not to take orders for, or deliver, firecrackers in the three districts. Only licensed traders may sell approved crackers.

Officers in charge of police stations have been directed to monitor actively, inspect markets regularly and enforce the rules, and the police have warned that violators face penalties under the relevant laws. Residents have also been urged to join organised community displays at open grounds rather than bursting crackers in crowded neighbourhoods.

Calls for a complete ban

The Kuda Village Council had earlier asked for a district-wide ban, pointing to the effect of firecrackers on elderly people, infants, children, the sick and animals, as well as noise and air pollution. In December 2025 it had urged the Dimapur administration to prohibit firecrackers during festivals across the district.

The report did not say whether the police had taken any action over the early bursting. Elsewhere in Nagaland, Wokha district had earlier banned crackers containing barium salts and allowed only green crackers this season.