The ban on sale of firecrackers in Delhi-NCR may not have had the desired impact on air quality, but major hospitals in the national capital have reported less burn injury cases this Diwali than the year before.
Centre-run Safdarjung Hospital and RML Hospital, both of which have big burn units, received 66 and 29 patients respectively.
The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) did not receive any burn injury cases last night, doctors said.
The Safdarjung Hospital, located in the heart of the city, had received 110 burn patients last Diwali, a senior doctor said.
"Out of the 66 patients, who came between 6 pm yesterday to 6 am today, 50 had suffered burn injuries during Diwali- related festivities. Five of them were admitted," he said.
At the RML Hospital, located in central Delhi, less number of people came to the casualty wards with burn injuries compared to the 79 patients last year.
"Since last evening till 10 am today, 29 patients -- 23 males and five females -- with burn injuries, mainly related to hands and eyes, were attended to in the casualty department. Only one man, who had suffered 27 per cent injury was admitted," Medical Superintendent of the RML Hospital, Dr V K Tiwari, told PTI.
Many doctors feel that the Supreme Court ban on sale of crackers in Delhi-NCR may have contributed to less number of burn cases reported at hospitals.
The Delhi government's largest hospital, the LNJP Hospital also received just 10 patients.
"Only four of them needed admission, the extent of burn ranged from 10 per cent in one patient to 60 per cent in another. None had eye injuries, but only facial and limb injuries," Medical Superintendent of the LNJP Hospital J C Passey told PTI.
Authorities at the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital said that its casualty unit received 15 cases of burn injuries during the night, 10 of whom were adults and five children.
Two patients with severe burn injuries have been operated, and the rest discharged. Four patients with breathing difficulty also came to the casualty ward, they said.
The St Stephen's Hospital did not report a single burn- related case on Diwali night. "We usually get 15-20 cases every year. But, this time the firecracker ban may have helped reduce the number," a senior official said.
However, night-long Diwali revelries, left Delhi polluted in the morning, as the air quality took a sharp plunge and entered the 'severe' zone today.
