Karnataka on Saturday issued an order allowing only green crackers this Deepavali.
The order came even as Ecology & Environment Minister Anand Singh said, earlier this week, that the government would not ban firecrackers.
The green cracker mandate is in line with Supreme Court guidelines, Chief Secretary P Ravi Kumar said in his order.
Green crackers are basically made of reduced shell sizes without ash, fewer raw materials and come with dust suppressants to reduce emissions. They are believed to be less polluting than conventional crackers.
The shops selling crackers will have to take requisite permission from the government and sell only green crackers. These shops can open only from November 1 to November 10, will have to function away from residential areas and on open grounds apart from ensuring adequate ventilation.
The shop keepers will have to put in place all Covid-19 regulations including maintenance of six feet distance between customers, thermal screening and sanitisation, Kumar, who is also chairperson of the state Disaster Management executive committee, said.
Meanwhile, the fire department, too, has issued safety guidelines for bursting crackers. The guidelines ask parents to ensure that children light firecrackers only under adult supervision, hold sparklers away from the body, not light crackers at home, not wear loose flowing clothes while lighting crackers, never return to fire once lit as it may explode and never light a flower pot holding it in the hand.
As a precautionary measure, the department has asked everyone bursting crackers to keep water handy in case of accidents and to immediately contact fire control 101 in case of an emergency. The department has also urged people to be sensitive to senior citizens and animals, apart from not lighting firecrackers near hospitals.
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