Mumbai Police warns of fire hazard, and, hence, prevention is best
The Mumbai Police has banned the use, sale and flying of lanterns for New Year's Eve celebrations and Makar Sankranti to avoid any untoward incident. The order is a measure taken by the police in order to prevent incidents like when a Malad building caught fire because of a sky lantern in 2015.
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A flying lantern caused a fire in a high-rise in 2015 in Malad. File pic
On December 31, people gather at popular tourist points like Marine Drive, Gateway of India, Girgaum Chowpatty, Haji-Ali and Worli Seaface. Flying Chinese lanterns is seen as a common celebration practice, the same that are also flown during the festival of Makar Sankranti. But, around three years ago, the usage of lanterns had caused fire in a couple of high-rises.
Mumbai police spokesperson and DCP (operation) Deepak Deorj, on behalf of the commissioner of police, Mumbai, on Saturday released a statement announcing the ban on use, sale and storage of flying lanterns between December 24, 2017 and January 22, 2018. "Flying lanterns may cause grave danger to human life, safety and injury to public property. Therefore, the use, sale and storage of the flying lanterns have been banned in the jurisdiction of Brihan Mumbai Police," DCP stated.
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