New Delhi: Amid the Coronavirus outbreak and rising air pollution levels, various state governments have banned the sale of crackers, making the option for green crackers more viable.
Environmental experts have suggested that there should be a blanket ban on the sale and purchase of green crackers as well, in the view of COVID situation, asserting that these could also be toxic for the air quality and could worsen the situation.
On November 3, the National Green Tribunal issued a notice to the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) as well as to the four-state governments including Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan seeking their opinion on the ban of crackers from November 7 to November 30 for public health and safety.
The reply has been sought by the National Green Tribunal, NGT from MoEFCC, Central Pollution Control Board, Delhi Pollution Control Board, the four state governments and Delhi Police Commissioner regarding the matter.
Speaking to ETV Bharat over the matter, Environmentalist Vimlendu Jha said that the contribution of firecrackers in 'severe' air quality index is evident. He also added that the ban of crackers is crucial amid COVID pandemic. "People think that they are just doing it for a day, but its impact is long-lasting," he said.
When asked about green crackers, he replied, "On papers, it sounds 'green', but, in reality, it is actually not 'green crackers'. It emits 30 per cent less pollutants than the existing firecrackers. The only difference is that the green crackers are less toxic than the normal ones but these are not green firecrackers in every sense."
Read:NGT moved for fire cracker ban from November 7-30
The green crackers are being manufactured either without barium salt or with lesser quantities of barium, leading to a 30 to 35 per cent less emissions of 2.5 particulate matter than the traditional crackers. "Air pollution aggregates many kinds of illnesses. Selling crackers will lead to more damage. Green crackers are also toxic for the air quality and it can worsen the current COVID situation," said Sunil Dahiya, Analyst at the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air.
He further added that there should be a complete ban of crackers amid the current scenario of COVID and air pollution."These festivals should be celebrated without crackers. If we go by the mythology, Diwali was not celebrated, the way it is being celebrated nowadays."
While Rajasthan Government has already announced a complete ban on the sale and bursting of crackers during the festive season, Delhi Government, last week, had directed that only green crackers would be allowed to be sold in the national capital."Ideally, I even request the Delhi Government to ban the sale and purchase of even green firecrackers as these will also have a negative impact on ambient air quality," said Vimlendu Jha.
In 2017, the Supreme Court banned the sales of crackers, after which the Central Government suggested CSIR-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI) to formulate firecracker that emits less pollutants. However, experts also suggested that the ban on crackers should be implemented across the country, in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak.
"This should not be a Delhi specific law because we have seen entire north India is reeling under bad air. Cities like Lucknow, Patna, Kanpur and other parts of the nation are highly polluted. So, the ban should be across India, given the fact that during COVID times, we really need to be more careful," Jha asserted.
According to the latest Central Pollution Control Board, CPCB data, Air Quality in Delhi remains in 'very poor' category for the fourth consecutive day, with Index value 325.
Also read:Avoid firecrackers this Diwali: Delhi minister
