LUCKNOW: In the wake of Supreme Court stressing upon pollution free Diwali, UP government, on Wednesday, issued guidelines for cracker bursting on festival of lights to keep the levels of air pollution under check.
As per the norms notified by the state government, only eco-friendly firecrackers will be allowed to be burst and that too for two hours from 8 pm to 10 pm on the Diwali day.
Notably, in 2019, the Supreme Court outlined specific norms and ordered the ban with restricted use to green crackers in a two-hour window between 8 pm and 10 pm.
The UP government has also specified that respective district administrations across the state are expected to identify a community area for crackers bursting on the Diwali day. Special emphasis has been laid on NCR region owing to high levels of air pollution which makes it difficult for the denizens to breathe fresh air post-Diwali every year.
As per the official sources, people have been asked to buy firecrackers that caused less pollution only from licensed outlets and not e-commerce platforms.
Local authorities have been directed to sensitise people about the dangers of firecrackers. Strict action would be initiated against Station House Officers of the respective police stations if the guidelines were not followed properly, said the sources.
As per the norms, crackers causing less pollution would have to be used and series crackers like small bombs were banned.
Last year, the apex court had issued directives to a number of state governments over bursting of crackers. The court had allowed only low emission crackers to be sold only by the licence holder cracker manufacturers. The court had banned online sale of firecrackers and had declared it a contempt of court.
The court had fixed the time limit of two hours — 8 pm to 10 pm – saying it would be applicable to the entire nation.