BENGALURU: Coming under severe fire from party leaders and supporters over his government’s decision to ban firecrackers this Deepavali, Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa took a U-turn — from banning it to appealing that only green crackers be used. On Friday morning, Yediyurappa said that the government had decided to prohibit the use of firecrackers this year, given the pandemic situation. Within hours of the announcement which brought appreciation as well as criticism for the CM, Yediyurappa issued a statement later “appealing” to people to use green crackers.
“The government has held discussions and has decided to prohibit the use of firecrackers this Deepavali. A decision has already been taken and orders will be issued soon. Only for this year, given the Covid-19 pandemic and other issues, firecrackers will be prohibited,” the Chief Minister said on Friday morning.
Hours later, he issued a statement saying, “Many suggestions have come in from the public over the sale and use of crackers this Deepavali. The government is doing everything to contain Covid-19. Given the situation, it is deemed fit to celebrate Deepavali in a simple, meaningful, devotional manner keeping public health in mind. In this regard, it is requested that only green crackers are used.”
Panel favoured cracker ban
The U-turn came as an afterthought, given that Medical Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar said the decision was a well thought-out one. “Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa has taken a decision to ban crackers during this Deepavali based on the recommendation of the Technical Advisory Committee of the Health Department. Let us celebrate simple Deepavali this year. The smoke due to burning crackers will have a negative impact on people’s health, especially those who have recovered from Covid-19 infection.
The technical advisory committee had submitted a report in this regard. The CM has taken the decision based on the report,” the minister had said. Karnataka, which was set to join the list of states like Rajasthan, Odisha, Sikkim and Delhi, which have banned firecrackers owing to the pandemic situation, has now rolled back its decision. The decision comes at a time when the state has been recording more than 3,000 new Covid-19 cases on an average for more than a week now.