With Chinese New Year just around the corner, and most people advised not to return to their hometown, so the temptation to buy and let off fireworks has never been greater. Authorities are therefore offering rewards to those who report illegal vendors.
This lunar new year is now the seventh in which letting off fireworks comes under a blanket ban in Nanjing’s urban area, together with the sale of fireworks and firecrackers across most of the city.
Specifically, this year’s ban on sales extends to encompass all of the districts of Gulou, Jianye, Pukou, Qinhuai, Yuhuatai and Xuanwu, together with Jiangbei New Area, reports Nanjing Daily.
In the remaining districts of Nanjing, namely Gaochun, Jiangning, Lishui, Liuhe and Qixia, the ban on firework sales is partial.
And it is in the former areas where local authorities are counting on the public’s help, in order to temper illegal sales and bring health and safety to the fore city wide.
At a press conference held yesterday, 2 February, law enforcement representatives urged the general public to consciously abide by the city’s ban on fireworks and firecrackers. Those who actively report the illegal use or sale of fireworks or firecrackers, together with their transportation or storage, shall be eligible for a reward once the alleged illegal behaviour has been verified.
Calling for the public’s assistance however, in no way means law enforcement is resting on its laurels.
Daily patrols will be taking place on Nanjing’s roads, with law enforcement on particular lookout for pop-up stalls selling fireworks and local people setting off firecrackers in the city’s darker alleyways. In addition, the 1st, 5th and 15th days of the lunar year’s first month have been earmarked for extra vigilance on the part of the firecracker hunters.
Last year, the measures returned remarkable results. There was reported neither a single fire nor a personal injury within the zone where fireworks and firecrackers were completely banned. Elsewhere, 53 cases of illegal firework discharge were investigated, 58 people were punished and more than 14,000 cases of illegal fireworks and firecrackers were seized and destroyed.
Members of the public who come across the sale, transportation, storage or discharge of fireworks and firecrackers within the prohibited zone can call the emergency police hotline that is 110, while the number to call for the illegal sale of fireworks and firecrackers is 83630300.
