Diwali: Chhattisgarh cracks down on Chinese lights

Raipur, Oct 9: The Balodabazar district administration in Chhattisgarh has decided not to use Chinese lights and instead illuminate the government buildings with 'diyas' (earthen lamps) during the upcoming Diwali festival.

The officials concerned have been asked to ensure that all government and panchayat buildings are illuminated with the earthen lamps during the festival, Balodabazar's collector Rajesh Singh Rana told PTI today. "On the auspicious occasion of Diwali, we light up the government office buildings along with our homes.

The district administration has this year decided to ban the use of Chinese manufactured lights for the purpose," he said. The aim is to make people aware of the use of diyas made of clay which are also eco-friendly, and boycott the China-made products, the collector said.

To encourage the people involved in making earthen diyas, mostly potters, around 150 electric pottery wheels were recently distributed to them in the district, he said. Till Diwali, the earthen lamp vendors have also been exempted from paying local taxes, which are levied for their outlets, Rana said. Chief Minister Raman Singh, in his yesterday's monthly radio address programme 'Raman ke Goth', had appealed to the people of the state to boycott Chinese lights and firecrackers during Diwali. Balodabazar district headquarters is located around 90 kms from the state capital Raipur.

PTI