Nepal Police have urged the public not to use firecrackers and explosive materials during the Tihar festival, warning that such items can cause fires, human injuries, amputations, damage to homes and property, and environmental pollution. In an appeal reported by Khabarhub, the force also asked that children not be given firecrackers or flammable substances, while an accompanying explainer highlighted the fear, suffering and risk that the loud blasts bring to many people and to animals, with children and the elderly particularly affected by the noise.

Why Nepal Police Are Speaking Up Before Tihar

Tihar, widely known as the festival of lights, is one of Nepal's most cherished celebrations, a time when homes and streets glow with oil lamps and candles and families gather to mark the festival together. Yet alongside the lights and songs, the season has long been accompanied by the sound of firecrackers, and it is this practice that Nepal Police are now asking citizens to leave behind.

The appeal, addressed to the general public, makes a clear and direct request: do not use firecrackers or explosive materials during Tihar. The message is framed not as a criticism of celebration itself, but of the specific dangers that firecrackers and explosives introduce into what is otherwise a household-centered festival. According to the police, the risks are wide-ranging, touching people, property, the environment and, by extension, the wellbeing of entire neighborhoods during the festival days.

The Dangers Police Cited: Fires, Injuries, Amputations, Property Damage and Pollution

At the heart of the police warning is a list of the concrete harms that firecrackers and explosive materials can cause. According to the appeal, these include:

  • Fires that can be triggered when flammable and explosive materials are ignited;
  • Human injuries, which the police noted can be severe enough to result in amputations;
  • Damage to homes and property;
  • Environmental pollution.

The inclusion of amputations in that list underlines how serious the potential consequences can be. As the police description makes clear, firecrackers are not harmless toys but explosive and flammable materials whose misuse can turn a moment of celebration into a life-changing injury. By pairing the danger to people with the danger to homes and property, the appeal also acknowledges that a single careless act during the festival can affect not only the person lighting the firecracker but also family members, neighbors and bystanders nearby.

The environmental cost extends the warning beyond the festival grounds altogether. Pollution is listed by the police as one of the direct consequences of firecracker use, meaning the harm does not stop at the boundary of the household where the explosives are set off but is shared by the wider community and surroundings.

A Direct Appeal to Parents and Guardians: Keep Children Away

Alongside the general warning, Nepal Police singled out one group for specific protection: children. The force explicitly asked that children not be given firecrackers or flammable substances during the festival.

The request places responsibility firmly on the adults in the household. Because children are often handed firecrackers as a form of festive entertainment, the police message is aimed as much at parents, guardians and elders as at anyone else, urging them not to pass on materials that the force itself describes as capable of causing fires, injuries, amputations and pollution. The appeal reflects the understanding that children cannot be expected to weigh these dangers for themselves; that judgment, the police indicate, belongs to the adults around them.

The concern for children also echoes the broader points made in the explainer published along with the appeal, which identified children as one of the groups most affected by firecracker noise.

The Wider Toll: Fear and Suffering for People and Animals

The explainer accompanying the police appeal broadened the picture beyond injuries and property, noting that firecrackers cause fear, suffering and risk for many people as well as for animals. In other words, the harm caused by firecrackers is not limited to the accidents that occasionally occur; it is also measured in the distress that loud, sudden explosions inflict on others throughout the festival period.

Who Is Most Affected, According to the Explainer

  • Children, who are particularly affected by the loud noise of firecrackers;
  • Elderly people, likewise singled out as particularly affected by the blasts;
  • Animals, which face fear, suffering and risk when firecrackers are set off around them.

For children and the elderly, the repeated explosions that accompany firecracker use are not a harmless backdrop to the festival but a source of genuine fear and suffering. The explainer's message is that the noise transforms the festival environment for these groups, turning what should be a time of joy into a period of anxiety.

Animals are included in this account of harm as well. According to the explainer, firecrackers expose animals to fear, suffering and risk, a reminder that the impact of the explosions reaches beyond the people lighting them to the creatures living alongside them.

Taken together, the police appeal and the accompanying explainer amount to a single message for the Tihar season: the festival of lights can be fully enjoyed without firecrackers. The police have asked citizens to avoid the materials that cause fires, injuries, amputations, property damage and pollution, and to keep them out of the hands of children entirely. The explainer adds a further reason to comply, pointing to the fear and suffering that the noise brings to people and animals alike, especially children and the elderly. As households light lamps and welcome the festival, the force's appeal invites the public to celebrate Tihar in a way that protects the people, homes, animals and environment around them.