Following SC order, Maharashtra Pollution Control Board to check noise created, composition of all crackers

Hours after the Supreme Court order regulating use of fire crackers across the country, the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) sprung into action. The state pollution control body chalked out a detailed roadmap for future action.

On Wednesday, MPCB along with Awaaz Foundation, will burst crackers in north east Mumbai to measure the noise created and thereafter carry out a chemical analysis of the residue to examine the air pollution and its impact on health. The report will later be forwarded to Petroleum Explosives Safety Organisation, which will take a call on which crackers will be allowed to be sold in the market.

MPCB Joint Director VM Motghare told DNA, "The state pollution control body will organise pre and post Diwali awareness campaigns through its 12 divisional offices in all the 27 municipal corporation areas in a serious bid to curb air and noise pollution. This will be undertaken with the active involvement of citizen and NGOs. MPCB's ongoing efforts have yielded results as lesser people are bursting crackers now. Its level was quite low last year in Mumbai."

He added that the decibel level will be measured and people will be appealed to burst only those crackers whose decibel level will be well within the prescribed limit.

Motghare said crackers contain lead, aluminium, potassium nitrate, and antimony and their content will be measured during the analysis at MPCB laboratories. "MPCB gives equal importance to control both air and noise pollution and thereby to curb health hazards," he noted.

Further, MPCB has formed squads comprising police, and MPCB and district collectorate officials to check whether manufacturers have given information about the composition of firecrackers on the box. MPCB has also banned firecrackers made in China.