<p>The festival of lights - Deepavali - has arrived. This year, it has come with some confusion on crackers, with the government stressing on ‘Green crackers’, to minimise air pollution.</p>.<p>Deepavali is celebrated from November 13 to 16. While ‘Dhanteras’, was celebrated on Friday, Narakachaturdasi falls on Saturday (Nov 14), Deepavali on Sunday (November 15), and Balipadyami on Monday (November 16).</p>.<p>Although holidays have brought happiness among the people, they are under confusion on selecting fire crackers. Last year, the Police department had allocated two hours time to light crackers, to minimise air and noise pollution. This year, the scenario is different, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.</p>.<p>Sale of crackers has taken a beating, with the government allowing only ‘green crackers’, with an intention to protect Covid patients, who are susceptible to breathing problems, due to smoke.</p>.<p>To give clarity on ‘Green crackers’, the state Government has stated that green crackers can be identified through distinct green logo of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) - National Environment and Engineering Institute (NEERI) and Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO). A QR code is incorporated on the fire crackers, to avoid manufacture and sales of duplicate and low-quality products.</p>.<p>The government has directed the Police and Pollution control board members to take suitable action against violations.</p>.<p>Hebbal Industrial Area Crackers Traders’ Association claims that every bundle of crackers have the sticker ‘Green cracker’ to help the buyers. The fire crackers sold by members of the association are all purely ‘Green crackers’, as the manufacturing units in Tamil Nadu have been using chemicals allowed by the Union Government agencies, since two years. It is safe to buy crackers in a licensed shops, the association clarified. However, All India Institute of Speech and Hearing (AIISH) Director N Pushpavathi, and Scientific Officers of KSPCB B N Prakash and Geetha advise to shun crackers.</p>
<p>The festival of lights - Deepavali - has arrived. This year, it has come with some confusion on crackers, with the government stressing on ‘Green crackers’, to minimise air pollution.</p>.<p>Deepavali is celebrated from November 13 to 16. While ‘Dhanteras’, was celebrated on Friday, Narakachaturdasi falls on Saturday (Nov 14), Deepavali on Sunday (November 15), and Balipadyami on Monday (November 16).</p>.<p>Although holidays have brought happiness among the people, they are under confusion on selecting fire crackers. Last year, the Police department had allocated two hours time to light crackers, to minimise air and noise pollution. This year, the scenario is different, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.</p>.<p>Sale of crackers has taken a beating, with the government allowing only ‘green crackers’, with an intention to protect Covid patients, who are susceptible to breathing problems, due to smoke.</p>.<p>To give clarity on ‘Green crackers’, the state Government has stated that green crackers can be identified through distinct green logo of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) - National Environment and Engineering Institute (NEERI) and Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO). A QR code is incorporated on the fire crackers, to avoid manufacture and sales of duplicate and low-quality products.</p>.<p>The government has directed the Police and Pollution control board members to take suitable action against violations.</p>.<p>Hebbal Industrial Area Crackers Traders’ Association claims that every bundle of crackers have the sticker ‘Green cracker’ to help the buyers. The fire crackers sold by members of the association are all purely ‘Green crackers’, as the manufacturing units in Tamil Nadu have been using chemicals allowed by the Union Government agencies, since two years. It is safe to buy crackers in a licensed shops, the association clarified. However, All India Institute of Speech and Hearing (AIISH) Director N Pushpavathi, and Scientific Officers of KSPCB B N Prakash and Geetha advise to shun crackers.</p>