The ban on firecrackers in 13 Uttar Pradesh cities proved ineffectiveas people burst crackers with a vengeance on Diwali night.
The air quality index in Lucknow zoomed to 881 by midnight and settled at 427 on Sunday morning.
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In Rajajipuram locality, the AQI was 752 on Sunday morning and Naka Hind, Qaiserbagh and Lalbagh areas recorded AQI at 450 -- all in the 'hazardous' category.
Most people refrained from bursting crackers till about 8 p.m. when police vans were seen patrolling the various areas.
However, after 9 p.m., people went berserk bursting firecrackers, even the high decibel ones.
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Rakesh Khatri, a businessman here, who burst a Rs 10,000 firecracker, explained, "I had bought these crackers much before the ban was announced. Storing the crackers can be dangerous because we have children in the house so I had to use them. When my neighbours starting bursting crackers after the Diwali puja, I also followed suit."
Reports of firecrackers being used despite the ban are also came in from cities like Kanpur where AQI was 750 on Sunday morning.
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Other cities that defied the ban include Meerut, Moradabad and several other cities in western districts.
A senior police official said that the administration has taken note of people defying the ban and necessary action would be taken against those responsible.
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