Diwali celebrations to be cracker-less in Odisha today!

Bhubaneswar: Even as the Orissa High Court has granted permission for the sale and use of green crackers in the state on Diwali, the celebrations are likely to be cracker-less, this evening.

Akash Patnaik, Bhubaneswar Firecrackers Traders’ Association Secretary, said green crackers are not available in local markets. Green crackers, more expensive than normal firecrackers, are not manufactured in Odisha. Such crackers are produced in some factories in Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu. There was merely a day left for Diwali when the High Court gave permission for green crackers. Procuring green crackers from Sivakasi and bringing those to Odisha for selling within that short period of time was not possible for the traders, he said.

The court has permitted bursting of green crackers for two hours on Diwali from 8 PM to 10 PM.

However, the green crackers need to be approved by the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO), the court said.

The All Odisha Fireworks Dealers Association had moved the High Court seeking permission for sale of green crackers in Odisha on Diwali.

The green crackers, developed by Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), emit pollutants 30% lesser than normal firecrackers.

The green crackers are made using less polluting raw materials. Green crackers produce 110-125 decibels of sound while the normal ones emit about 160 decibels.

The manufacturers of green crackers need to sign a deal with the CSIR in order to produce such crackers.

In India, three types of green crackers– SWAS, STAR and SAFAL– are available.

Also read– What Are Green Crackers? Meaning, Formulation And All You Need To Know.

As per CSIR-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, below is the definition of the green crackers.

Improved fireworks/ firecrackers: Fireworks/ firecrackers made with reduction in size of shell, elimination of ash usage etc., reduced usage of raw materials in the compositions, of uniform acceptable quality, and/ or use of additives as dust suppressants to reduce emissions with specific reference to particulate matter (PM), SO2 and NO2 leading to:

• a minimum of PM reduction of 30%.
• a minimum of PM reduction of 20% and rest 10% of gaseous emission (mass of gases emitted based on composition) or more reduction of gaseous emission (mass of gases emitted based on composition).
• All of the above reduction shall be based on when compared with conventional composition for a given category of crackers/ fireworks.

New formulation fireworks/ firecrackers: Fireworks/ firecrackers having new and improved formulations (substitution and reduction of raw materials in composition) to reduce emissions with specific reference to particulate matter (PM), SO2 and NO2 as:

• a minimum of PM reduction of 30%.
• a minimum of PM reduction of 20% and rest 10% of gaseous emission (mass of gases emitted based on composition).
• All of the above reduction shall be based on when compared with conventional composition for a given category of crackers/ fireworks metals are subset of PM.

Also read– HC Allows Bursting Of Green Crackers In Odisha For 2 Hours On Diwali.