TN DGP issues advisory for Diwali

Chennai, Nov 3 (IANS) Tamil Nadu DGP C. Sylendra Babu has issued an advisory, appealing people to burst crackers on Diwali while strictly adhering to the guidelines issued by the Supreme Court.

The police said that people can burst crackers between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. and from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.

He also asked people of the state to celebrate the festival safely and to adhere to all the Covid-19 norms issued by the state government.

The police also said that banned crackers should not be sold and urged the people not to buy them.

The Tamil Nadu DGP suggested that children should only burst crackers under the supervision of elders.

The police have also called upon people to inform the police about the presence of any suspicious persons in their localities.

The state government has already declared a holiday for government departments and schools on Friday, leading to an extended Diwali holiday.

Meanwhile, the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (Tasmac) has set a target of Rs 1,000 crore liquor sales during the festive season.

The state health department has already issued warning that the Tasmac shops must have proper Covid-19 protocols in place.

The police have also been directed to depute personnel before all the Tasmac outlets and in particular at bars attached as several incidents of violence were reported in the past.

A senior manager with Tasmac at Chennai told IANS: "Providing Covid -19 protocol will be difficult and no one listens to us. If police are deployed, things would be different and we have already petitioned the department to provide police security to us otherwise it would be difficult to manage people after one or two drinks."