Firecrackers darken the festival of light for pedestrians, commuters

By Joshua Lobo

It was a particularly noiseless first day of Diwali due to the unceasing rainfall which prevented revellers from bursting crackers. Wednesday evening, however, was the first time that the two days of continuous rain had let up. As a result, the number of eye injuries that were reported shot up drastically.

Dr Suneetha Nithyanandam of St John's Hospital gave an account of how she was called for an emergency at around 11:00 pm. A rocket bomb had exploded into the eye of one of her patients. The impact resulted in the rupture of the ocular globe, something which required immediate surgical intervention. Surprisingly, the injured man was not playing with crackers.The patient was on his roof, watching the fireworks around his residence.

"It is usually spectators and passersby who get injured due to careless handling of fireworks," said Dr Nithyanandam. As stray rockets zipped aimlessly, and lit bombs that were barely visible in the dark and exploded near unsuspecting travellers, it was not surprising that Minto hospital reported that 17 out of the total 30 cases received during the three days of festivities were that of pedestrians and onlookers.

Majority of cases at Narayana Nethralaya were minor thermal injuries that did not require operation or admission. But some did undergo major surgeries and have poor chances of regaining vision.

This calls into question the need for restricted use and responsible handling of fireworks.