60% rise in road accidents, 20% spike in falls and burns

While Gujarat celebrated Diwali with great verve on Sunday, it was not all great going.

The state recorded a 60% spike in road accidents on Sunday, according to EMRI 108 data.

Non-vehicular trauma, including falls, burns, assault, and electrocution, also saw a 60% rise on Diwali.

Across the state, there were 41 burn cases, including 10 from Ahmedabad, seven from Surat, four from Rajkot, and two each from Vadodara, Amreli, Anand, Bhavnagar, Jamnagar, and Patan.

Among vehicular accidents, Ahmedabad recorded 94, followed by 56 in Vadodara, 54 in Surat, 38 in Rajkot, and 28 in Dahod, among others.

There was a 2% rise compared to regular days, said EMRI officials. 

Physical assault emergencies doubled at 279, whereas fall cases at 215 were 20% up compared to normal days. Fall cases include 51 from Ahmedabad, 32 from Surat, and 16 from Rajkot.

Meanwhile, having burst crackers till late into the night, Amdavadis woke up to a layer of haze as the Air Quality Index (AQI) deteriorated from 'satisfactory' to the 'moderate' category. 

The AQI was around 80 at 6pm on Sunday and crossed the 160 mark by midnight. By Monday afternoon, it increased to 183.

However, this was more than that recorded in 2021 and 2022. According to government data, the AQI of Ahmedabad on Diwali was 120 in 2021 and 130 in 2022.

Safar data shows that the AQI in Rakhial and Pirana was the worst and was constantly over 300.

The official data reveals that in areas like Chandkheda, Satellite, and Navranpura, compared to Bopal and Sardarnagar. In the city, Bopal has the lowest AQI of 131.