Citizens deliver legal notices to state government. due to the bursting of firecrackers during the Ganesha festival

A group of citizens has served a legal notice to several key functionaries of the state government besides the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board over the repeated bursting of firecrackers during the recent Ganesha festival.

The citizens, including Harini Raghavan, Sudha Narayanan, Priya Chetty Rajagopal, Vinod Jacob, Anjali Gopalan, Reena Chengappa and Sonali, said in their petition that the repeated bursts of firecrackers had caused considerable suffering to the residents. A legal notice is therefore sent to the concerned authorities.

Harini Raghavan said, “As citizens, we want immediate enforcement of existing legal restrictions on firecrackers, unauthorized storage and sale and indiscriminate dumping of crackers on public roads. With Diwali approaching, we also want concerned government authorities including KSPCB to conduct surprise checks on suspected warehouses, unauthorized storage facilities and retail outlets, confiscate the banned warehouse and take appropriate legal action against violators.”

She clarified that their aim is not to prevent festivals or lawful celebrations, but to ensure that they are carried out responsibly without jeopardizing public health, road safety, the right to clean air or the welfare of people, especially the elderly, children and animals. They urged the Karnataka authorities to issue clear public guidelines on permissible firecrackers and timing of blasts.

Ms. Raghavan warned that if the authorities do not respond appropriately and take effective measures within 10 days of receiving the notice on October 20, citizens will approach the relevant court for judicial intervention and enforcement of relevant legal provisions.

However, R. Gokul, member secretary, KSPCB, said, “I have not come across any legal notice served by KSPCB recently. We cannot ban some crackers that cause a lot of noise and air pollution that affects the health of citizens until a proper law is implemented. As authorities, we can only ask citizens to use green crackers that cause less noise and air pollution and to burst crackers during a specific time of the day.”

Published – 28 Oct 2026 21:15 IST