Despite the government’s 20-year-old ban on firecrackers, many residents in several northern provinces still set off firecrackers during the past Tet holiday. These provinces include Hai Duong, Nam Dinh, Quang Binh and Quang Tri, where many people set off firecrackers and thereby violated the ban on making, selling and letting off firecrackers issued by the government in 1994 for safety and security reasons. In many rural areas in Hai Duong, firecrackers began to be set off on the Lunar New Year’s Eve (January 31) and this continued during the first days of the Lunar New Year. Shredded red papers from the exploded firecrackers were scattered on roads, alleys, pavements in a number of districts of the province, including Tu Ky, Gia Loc, Ninh Giang, and Thanh Mien. By the third day of the Lunar New Year (February 2, 2014), the roadways of many streets in Gia Loc District were still covered by the remnants of the exploded firecrackers. The same situation was seen in Ninh Giang District’s Vinh Hoa Commune, where locals said many of the exploded firecrackers were homemade. In Thanh Mien District, only in the period between the Eve of Tet and noon of the first day of the Lunar New Year, police detected and handled 50 violations of the ban on firecrackers.   In Nam Dinh Province, the sound of exploding firecrackers was heard for 30 minutes from the Eve. Most of these firecrackers were smuggled fireworks and flares. In many areas in Quang Tri and Quang Binh provinces, firecrackers and fireworks were set off publicly over the Tet holiday, especially during Tet’s Eve.Violators to be strictly handled Before this year’s Tet, leaders of some of the above-mentioned provinces, including Hai Duong, pledged that measures would be taken to prevent the letting-off of firecrackers during the festival, which occurred in some previous Tets, but the reality was totally different.   In talking with Tuoi Tre on Tuesday afternoon, Nguyen Duc Cuong, chairman of Quang Tri Province People’s Committee, confirmed that a large quantity of firecrackers had been let off in Lao Bao Town. The authorities have asked local police to investigate, Cuong said.  Senior Lieutenant Colonel Le Quy Thuong, chief of the Secretariat of the Hai Duong Province Police, said that police have handled 86 cases of firecrackers being set off and seized about 300 kg of firecrackers. Police will strictly handle all violators and clarify the responsibility of local authorities in failing to prevent the prohibited practice, Thuong said.