BHUBANESWAR: With the rise in pollution, focus is being laid on making Diwali pollution but a study indicates around 58 per cent of the capital’s residents are unable to identify green crackers. As per the study carried out in the Bhubaneswar region by the SwitchOn Foundation, only around 42 per cent of the city’s residents were able to correctly identify green crackers.
Besides, the study found that 54 per cent of the surveyed individuals expressed uncertainty over the purchase of green crackers. This uncertainty stemmed from either the inability to recognise green crackers or a flawed understanding of identification methods.
As per the study, 70.3 per cent of people responded they would possibly buy green crackers at premium pricing, while 29 per cent refused to buy highly-priced crackers. On the other hand, 96 per cent of the respondents, during the survey, were found to have accurate knowledge of the timings, that is 8 pm to 10 pm, and the rest of the 4 per cent of respondents either did not know of the existence of such timing or they were not properly informed and tried to blindly guess the timing.
The survey was carried out by the Foundation in the city on November 7 and 8. As per the foundation, green crackers contain the CSIR-NEERI logo and QR code certifying their eco-friendliness. These are devoid of toxic barium compounds and create at least 30 per cent less pollution.