DURBAN SOUTH AFRICA, October 28,2002: South Africa’s National Assembly’s Safety and Security Portfolio Committee agreed last week to recommend the Explosives Bill on November 5, a day after Deepavali. The bill, if passed, will prohibit the use of fireworks without a permit. The controversy erupted at a time when a massive firework display was held by Hindus on Durban’s beach front as part of the Deepavali celebrations. According to the bill, failing to obtain a permit for such displays could lead to fines or jail terms of up to 25 years. Terming the bill “unacceptable,” the president of South African Hindu Maha Sabha, Ashwin Trikamjee, said it would be contested in the Constitutional Court if the concerns of the community were not taken into account. The chairman of the Portfolio Committee, Mluleki George, was quoted by the Independent daily today as saying that no input from the Hindu community had been made during the compulsory public comment period. Some politicians of Indian origin said they would make representations to the Committee to amend the Bill.
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