Kunal Kohli slams residents for bursting loud firecrackers outside Mumbai hospital

Kunal Kohli said residents continued bursting loud firecrackers outside Khar Hinduja Hospital while he took his mother there for emergency treatment on Diwali.

Director Kunal Kohli did not have a pleasant Diwali this year. The filmmaker recently took to social media to share how he had to take his mother to Mumbai's Khar Hinduja Hospital for emergency treatment on Diwali night. However, he was shocked to find people bursting loud firecrackers outside the hospital gate, seemingly with little regard for the patients inside.

Kunal Kohli slams residents for bursting loud firecrackers outside Mumbai hospital.

Kunal Kohli calls out residents for bursting loud firecrackers outside Mumbai hospital

In his post, Kunal mentioned that he even requested the residents not to burst loud crackers outside the hospital, but they paid no heed to him and continued with the celebrations. Tagging the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), Kunal wrote, "Took my mom for an emergency to Khar Hinduja hospital tonight, Diwali night. Sadly some residents were burning loud bombs just outside the hospital gate. I politely requested them to burn all crackers except loud bombs outside the hospital gates. A man told me ‘hospital galat jagah pe hai-hum yahan 40 saal se hain (Hospital is built at the wrong place, we have been here for the last 40 years)’ and he continued to burst loud bombs. @mybmc."

Bhumi Pednekar raises concerns over Mumbai's air quality after Diwali

Meanwhile, actor Bhumi Pednekar also raised concerns over deteriorating air quality and the impact of firecracker celebrations. Taking to Instagram Stories, she shared, “Houses have caught fire, the AQI is hazardous, roads are full of waste, its 3 am and all I can hear are loud crackers. Our roads were full of people bursting crackers on them, out in the open, even when it’s not allowed. This is heartbreaking. @my bmc ®mumbaipolice."

Deep Dive

Why did Kunal Kohli object to loud firecrackers outside a Mumbai hospital?

How much did Mumbai's AQI rise after Diwali firecrackers?

Which firecrackers were banned in Mumbai after Diwali, and where did the ban apply?

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She also shared another post on Monday morning, which read, “Diwali is a festival of light, love, family and new beginnings. But every year, along with the celebrations, comes a familiar aftermath: polluted air, firecracker waste, noise and frightened animals. Firecrackers release fine particulate matter and other pollutants that add to an already challenging air-quality situation. And the impact isn’t experienced equally. Children, older people, those with respiratory conditions and animals are particularly vulnerable. This year, let’s make a choice that allows everyone including the ones who cannot speak for themselves to enjoy the festival.”

Firecracker celebrations on Diwali night led to a rise in pollution levels in several cities across the country. In Mumbai, nine of the city's 25 air quality monitoring stations recorded poor air quality on Monday morning. The city's overall Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 171, placing it in the moderate category.