NEW DELHI: Diwali revellers can look forward to bursting firecrackers this year. Union science and technology minister Harsh Vardhan on Saturday announced that ‘green crackers’, on which the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) had been working for two years after the Supreme Court imposed ban on conventional fire-crackers, will be available in the market this year.
The eco-friendly crackers will emit less light and sound; importantly 30% less Particulate Matter. The cost is almost same as that of regular crackers. Vardhan said that CSIR labs have been successful in developing fireworks such as flowerpots, pencils, chakri and sparklers.
Nearly 165 fireworks manufactures were roped in and around 65 more manufacturers are in the process of coming on-board. Witnessing the pollution hazard and health risks posed by the firecrackers, in 2018, Vardhan had exhorted the scientific community to initiate R&D on environment-friendly fireworks.
The CSIR-NEERI developed improvements in conventional formulations based on barium nitrate to meet the stipulated norms of green crackers. The implementation of these formulations is subject to the approval of Supreme Court. Vardhan said that the emissions testing facilities for the new firecrackers have been set up at CSIR-NEERI as well as their approved National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration facilities.