Fiji’s police say there have been no reports of traders breaching a State ban on the sale of heavy duty fireworks blamed for fatalities in previous celebrations of Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, marked here on Saturday.
“It has been a very good Diwali,” Director Police Operations Superintendent Erami Raibe told FijiLive.
“We believe there was a complete compliance with the ban that was in place. Last year’s Diwali was also very good. People have been compliant,” Raibe said.
Traders convicted of violating the bans could pay as much as $25,000 in fines.
Banned fireworks include shells (cylindrical/spherical), firecrackers, aerial wheels, mines, rockets (moon travelers etc) and rockets without sticks.
Children under the age of 18 were also not allowed to buy fireworks, with the use of fireworks only allowed from 5-12pm on Saturday.
Last year, an eight-year-old boy died from severe burns from a mishap involving firecrackers.
Two deaths from fireworks-related accidents in the early 2000s caused authorities to take stronger measures to limit the kinds of fireworks available to the public.
