Ludhiana residents reportedly spent between Rs 40 crore and Rs 45 crore on firecrackers this Diwali, with crackers worth crores being sold across the industrial city in a single day. While dealers described business as exceptionally good, the celebrations also raised concerns over unchecked firecracker bursting, noise pollution and deteriorating air quality.According to the Wholesale Cracker Dealer Association, firecrackers worth approximately Rs 20 crore were sold at Dana Mandi, while retailers across Ludhiana district recorded sales estimated at another Rs 20 crore to Rs 25 crore.Pradeep Kumar, president of the Ludhiana Cracker Dealer Association, said the overall business was excellent, with firecracker sales in the district estimated at Rs 40 crore to Rs 45 crore.”The business would have been much more if the authorities had allowed us to put up stalls for at least 10 days. Apart from that, miscreants carrying weapons took away stocks worth around Rs 10 lakh to Rs 15 lakh from the market. Given the huge rush, we could not confront them. However, we have registered a complaint with the police,” he said.Another dealer, Vishal Shalley, said Diwali was the most important day of the year for firecracker traders who had been in the business for several decades.He added that dealers could have done better if they had been given more days to sell crackers and the arrangements had been more streamlined.Firecrackers burst till 3 am despite time restrictionsMeanwhile, firecracker bursting continued across Ludhiana well past midnight, with celebrations reportedly remaining intense until around 1.30 am. The intensity subsequently reduced, but crackers continued to be burst until approximately 3 am.The Supreme Court had prescribed a restricted time window for bursting firecrackers. However, residents allegedly continued to flout the restrictions, with little visible enforcement by local authorities to check violations and control air and noise pollution.Environmental activist Col Jasjit Singh Gill alleged that law and order had gone missing during this year’s Diwali celebrations.”There was no check on bursting of crackers, and residents showed off their money power to the maximum, turning crores into ashes. They can do so, but not at the cost of other people’s health and the environment. There is no concept of a Green Diwali here,” he said.Gill added that it was the police’s responsibility to ensure compliance with the restrictions, but violations continued openly across the city.AQI reportedly touched 2,000 in several areasJaskirat Singh, a member of the Public Action Committee, described the situation late on Diwali night as alarming, claiming that several locations recorded extremely high Air Quality Index (AQI) readings.According to Singh, areas including Gurdev Nagar, Model Town, the City area, Chandigarh Road and Jattvibeet reportedly recorded AQI levels approaching 2,000.He, however, pointed out that government agencies were reporting an AQI of 306 for Ludhiana at around 9 am the following morning.Singh said there were fluctuations in the readings and differences in the methods used by various sources to measure AQI levels.The sharp contrast between the reported readings highlighted concerns over the impact of extensive firecracker bursting on the city’s air quality.