Diwali may be quieter, cleaner

Dealers, manufacturers strike deal, get 90 per cent stock in Centre’s guidelines

Diwali may just be quieter and cleaner with the government and traders complying with noise and smoke limits issued by the Centre.

After the formation of the state, the Pollution Control Board insisted that firecracker traders take steps to curb sound and air pollution during Diwali.

The traders and dealers held a series of meetings with manufacturers in Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu, the hub of the firecracker industry, and succeeded in getting 90 per cent of the stock which complies with sound and air pollution standards.

The guidelines issued by the Centre in 2006, in the second amendment to the Environment Protection Rules, 1999, bans the sale or use of firecrackers generating noise levels exceeding 125 decibels. For joined firecrackers (the ‘ladi’ or chain of crackers), it reduced the limit.

Association of Telangana Fireworks Dealers president Jonnada Manik Rao said traders procure firecrackers from recognised manufacturers in Sivakasi and they are following the environmental rules.

“This time about 90 per cent of firecrackers will meet the standards and the rest is from unauthorised or illegal manufacturers. Consumers are also demanding less smoke and less sound,” he said.

PCB senior social scientist N. Ravinder said programmes organised by various agencies after the amendments to the environmental protection rules had created awareness among manufacturers in Sivakasi.