Every Diwali, the Festival of Lights, India is illuminated by the glow of oil lamps, the sparkle of fireworks, and the warmth of family gatherings. This celebration of joy, hope, and renewal is a cherished tradition, uniting millions in shared festivity. Yet, beneath the vibrant displays, a grim reality emerges each year: a surge in ocular injuries caused by firecrackers and, more recently, a dangerous new trend involving calcium carbide “cracker guns.” These injuries, particularly among children, transform moments of celebration into lifelong tragedies, leaving families grappling with irreversible vision loss and emotional devastation.
This year, the Diwali festival brought an alarming wave of eye injuries across central India, with calcium carbide devices and traditional firecrackers at the heart of the crisis. At SuVi Eye Institute & Lasik Laser Center in Kota, Rajasthan, we treated…