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Firecrackers bring joy, sorrow to Sping Festival
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2006-02-01 13:14
The return of fireworks to traditional Lunar New Year celebrations brought
much joy to revelers, but also sorrow to some parts of the nation.
The scene of the fireworks blasts is seen in
Central China's Henan Province on January 31,
2006.[Xinhua] |
In Beijing, where a 12-year ban on fireworks had just been lifted, explosions
injured 112 people, said the State Administration of Work Safety, quoted by
Wednesday's China Daily.
Seventeen people suffered serious eye injuries, and another 26 were admitted
to hospital with various types of wounds.
According to the Beijing News Daily, the city's environmental protection
bureau collected 458 tons of waste fireworks on Jan. 29, the first day of the
Lunar New Year.
In Chongqing Municipality, southwest China, firefighters rushedto extinguish
191 fires caused by fireworks on the Lunar New Year's Eve.
About 3,000 firefighters gave up the chance to spend the holiday with their
families to remain on duty.
Experts said the lifting of the ban would help preserve traditional Chinese
culture. But others said the return of fireworks would lead to more serious
pollution, fires, injuries and deaths.
On Sunday, an explosion in Linzhou, a city in Henan
Province, central China, killed 36 people and injured 48 others.
Fireworks are lit during loud celebrations
moments after midnight in an old Beijing neighborhood near the ancient
Bell Tower. [AFP] |
The explosion occurred when firecrackers in a storehouse were accidentally
ignited, the State Administration of Work Safety saidin a statement.
Although there were disagreements, the governments in more than100 Chinese
cities lifted the ban on fireworks last year.
Beijing also lifted the ban after a survey found that 70 percent of residents
felt fireworks made the holiday period more festive.
The new rules allow Beijing residents to explore fireworks all day and all
night on Jan. 28, and from 7 a.m. to midnight every day from Jan. 29 to Feb. 12.
With the aim of ensuring safety, about 3,000 police and community officers
have been sent to patrol off-limits areas such as schools, retirement homes and
sites of historic relics.
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