Gujarat High Court orders ban on Chinese Lanterns (Tukkal)

Ahmedabad

The Gujarat High Court today instructed the state government to ban the use of Chinese Lanterns popularly known as Tukkal during the upcoming festival of Uttrayan.

Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice Jayant Patel and Justice V M Pancholi ordered the state government to issue a notification in this regard within three days.

The court issued the order on a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by one Jivanbhai Rabari. His counsel Jugal Dave informed the court that the tukkals proved very harmful especially for the poor people living in huts.

‘Last year alone 21 incidents of fires caused by Tukkals were reported in Ahmedabad alone in which three people were killed. Use of it should be banned,’ he argued.

The state government counsel Manisha Shah also supported the demand.

Notably, the use of Chinese kite strings, also a major cause of accidents and even deaths during Uttarayan, is already banned in Gujarat.

According to a rough estimate Tukkals worth over 100 crore were sold during last Uttarayan.

– DeshGujarat