Hyderabad: Diwali celebrations where went haywire at some places in the city leaving at least 77 persons injured, mainly in the eyes. Of these at least 11 victims were admitted in two leading hospitals.
People in Hyderabad celebrated Diwali on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
An official of Sarojini Devi (SD) Eye Hospital in Mehdipatnam said that out of the 77 injured, nine persons were admitted in the hospital and two underwent surgery for eye injuries.Doctors said that 80 percent of the cases were injuries resulting from lighting up ‘rockets’ and ‘bombs’.
Speaking to siasat.com, Dr Karthika of SD Eye Hospital said 44 patients had come to avail treatment on Sunday alone while 14 on Monday.
However, none of the patients had received grievous injuries. Surgeries had been performed on three of the seven, the official said, adding that whether the remaining four would require surgery would be decided after tests some more tests.
Another hospital official said that 20 of the injury cases at S D Eye Hospital were due to crackers ‘misfiring’ and leaving three persons with serious burns.
According to hospital Superintendent, Dr Rajalingam, a majority of the patients had sustained minor injuries and did not need inpatient treatment.
There has been an increase of in the number of injury cases this year, and hospital authorities say more cases could still come in. “We are expecting more patients from rural areas. They usually come a day or two after Diwali.”
Quoting last year’s figures, another doctor said that the cases have increased in spite of campaigns educating people on safe methods that should be follow during Diwali.
“We had received around 30 cases last year, but this year the number of patients is more than double,” said a doctor requesting anonymity.
Meanwhile, the Fire Department in the city received numerous calls but when checked it was found that none of reported any serious incident.
About 25 cases were reported from the city, many of which were minor fires with no loss of property.
Regional Fire Officer V Papaiah, said, that “25 cases of crackers misfiring or burning erratically were reported in the city. Most of them could have been avoided if people were cautious.”
The one lone of a major fire that was reported at a tyre stores in Vanasthalipuram on Sunday. The store that heavy duty rubber tyres and tubes was quickly engulfed in flames allegedly duty to a firecracker that had fallen into the godown’s compound. No loss of life was reported.