Green crackers unlikely to sparkle

Not all the fire crackers that people would burst this Diwali will be 'green', as the sector regulator, the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO), has approved only one such product for manufacture, a fire cracker maker in Tamil Nadu's Sivakasi said. "Out of the 400 odd items that the industry makes, only one item - a single sound cracker - has been approved by PESO till date as the 'green' cracker for manufacture," the fire cracker maker, speaking on condition of anonymity, told IANS. 'Green' crackers are those where the minimum particulate matter emissions are reduced by about 30 per cent as compared to the conventional fire crackers. "All other fire crackers have not got the PESO's approval. During the last one year, CSIR-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) has come out with formulations for green crackers for only nine products while the industry makes about 400 items," he added.

According to him, the PESO-approved single sound cracker can be made only by 28 units in the country. However, Tamil Nadu Fireworks and Amorces Manufacturers Association (TANFAMA) President Ganesan Panjurajan told IANS that there were nearly 350 such units.

"I cannot say anything about PESO's approval process. A total of 348 units have been approved by CSIR-NEERI to make green crackers. The units are making only green crackers," he said.

Sivakasi accounts for nearly 90 per cent of the country's fire cracker production, and has 1,070 fire cracker units located in and around it.