Green crackers won’t do, complete ban needed to check pollution, say experts

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, November 10

With the Supreme Court banning the use of barium salts in fireworks along with the production and sale of crackers that use banned chemicals like antimony, lithium, mercury, arsenic and lead, Diwali and other festivals have seen a trend toward ‘greenification’ of firecrackers. These green crackers, sold in the market a few days ahead of the festival, come with the promise of less emission and low sound, with experts claiming 30 per cent less discharge of harmful chemicals and no release of particulate matter in the air. At a time when cities like Mumbai and Delhi are gasping for breath with the AQI (Air Quality Index) crossing the severe category and the situation getting even worse in Punjab, one is bound to question the logic that these ‘green’ crackers offer an alternative to traditional crackers, when they too only add to the pollution in the skies.

Experts from the city, including environmentalists, call green crackers a sham as they support a complete ban on firecrackers as solution to air quality control. Things are getting from bad to worse! With stubble burning not being controlled, the least that one can do is not to allow the bursting of firecrackers. For most people, Diwali is all about bursting crackers and when you have an AQI hovering from 250-300, these so-called green crackers, even with limited emissions, would only add to smoke in the air. Sadly, it’s not about religious sentiments being hurt as every community and religion is equally responsible,” said Indu Aurora, hub member, Clean Air Initiative, Punjab. Aurora says that nothing short of a complete ban on firecrackers throughout the year would offer any solution. “But the political will to bring about such a change is lacking in our country,” she said.

Environmentalist Rajneesh Sharma, who has been batting for stricter curbs and air monitoring, said, “So much money was being wasted on installing air monitoring systems in city, called Vayu, but nothing happened. No air monitoring system has been installed anywhere, how can we check whether the air quality in city during the festivities can bear anymore emissions or not,” he said. He also stressed on a complete ban on firecrackers of all types for at least the time till air quality improves during the season.

The Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) had decided to begin with air monitoring vans in major districts through the Clean Air initiative but the process has been delayed for now.

Green crackers first introduced in 2018

Green crackers were first introduced and developed by the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), a part of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), in 2018.

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