A government decision to limit the use of fireworks on the day of the Diwali Festival, Sunday 30th October, has been reversed after representations to the Acting Prime Minister Attorney General and Acting Minister for Land and Mineral Resources Aiyaz Sayed‑Khaiyum.
This means firecrackers can now be used between 5pm and midnight on both Diwali Day itself which is Sunday 30th October and on the Diwali Day public holiday on Monday 31st October.
On any other days in the lead‑up to Diwali and beyond, fireworks may only be used between 5pm and 10pm.
Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says the original decision by the Ministry for Land and Mineral Resources that the use of firecrackers until midnight be confined to the public holiday on Monday was unnecessarily restrictive and against the spirit of the law.
He says the government wants every Fijian to enjoy the Diwali Festival and that means accepting the right of people to use fireworks over the entire holiday period.
Sayed-Khaiyum also asks people to be considerate of their neighbours and to always handle fireworks safely, especially around children.
The Shree Sanatan Dharm Purohit Brahman Sabha of Fiji has thanked the Acting Prime Minister and Attorney General for looking into this matter.
Sabha’s National Secretary Vigyan Sharma says they are thankful to the government of the day which has allowed people to use firecrackers from 5pm to 12 midnight on Diwali Festival on Sunday 30th October.
Permanent Secretary for Lands and Mineral Resources Malakai Finau had highlighted to Fijivillage on Tuesday that as per the law, the firecrackers can only be used for 7 hours that is from 5pm to 12 midnight on the Diwali public holiday.
He said on other days, people are allowed to use firecrackers from 5pm to 10pm.
The Sabha then made a call to the authorities to reconsider the time frame for the use of firecrackers as Diwali will be celebrated on Sunday 30th October.
Finau met with the Sabha yesterday morning and told them that he will follow the law and the timeframe can only be applied for the Diwali public holiday as the time was too short for the law to be changed.
We sent questions to Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum yesterday.
He said in a statement late yesterday that firecrackers can now be used between 5pm and midnight on both Diwali Day itself which is Sunday 30th October and on the Diwali Day public holiday on Monday 31st October.
