Several state governments have geared up to curb the pollution caused by firecrackers on Diwali. While some states have completely banned the bursting of firecrackers, some have allowed green firecrackers during a fixed time.
Last week, the Supreme Court had also clarified that there is no total ban on the use of firecrackers and only those containing Barium salts, chemical crackers or found to be injurious to health are banned. "It is made clear that there is no total ban on the use of firecrackers, only those firecrackers are banned (joined, chemical) which are found to be injurious to health and affect the health of the citizens particularly the senior citizens and the children," said a Bench of Justices MR Shah and AS Bopanna.
In such a situation, the craze of green crackers in place of hazardous firecrackers is visible among the people. But do you know what are green crackers and how are they different from the old traditional crackers?
The burning of firecrackers increases air pollution in cities with more population, which is already in poor condition in the air quality index in the winter season. It becomes even more dangerous to burn firecrackers during the coronavirus pandemic because the immunity weakens due to pollution and people have to face difficulty in breathing.
Green crackers are the invention of the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) and they are similar to traditional firecrackers from sound to appearance, but when they burn, they produce up to 50% less harmful gases. While it is not true that they will not any cause pollution at all, they are significantly less harmful than normal firecrackers.
Green crackers do not contain harmful chemicals that lead to air pollution. They do not contain aluminium, barium, potassium nitrate or carbon or the amount of hazardous chemicals in green crackers is very less. This leads to a significant decrease in pollution.
These crackers reduce air pollution as well as noise pollution because they are slightly smaller in size and make less noise. The maximum noise pollution caused by green crackers is 110 to 125 decibels, while from normal firecrackers it is up to 160 decibels.
Due to their advantage over normal firecrackers, the green crackers cost more. If normal firecrackers are banned in your state and green firecrackers have been allowed, you can buy green crackers at a government-registered shop. Apart from this, you can also buy green firecrackers online.
