Ahead of the festive season, the UT Chandigarh Administration on Friday allowed the use of only green crackers on Diwali, Gurpurab and Dussehra. The decision was taken by the UT Administrator Banwarilal Purohit.
With this decision, the residents of the City will be able to burst green crackers for a specific time period. On Diwali, the city residents will be allowed the use of green crackers from 8.00 pm to 10.00 pm and for Dussehra for burning of effigy and for Gurupurab (from 4.00 am to 5.00 am and 9.00 pm to 10.00 pm).
Last year, a ban was imposed on the sale or use of crackers in Chandigarh. The administration imposed a ban on bursting and sale of firecrackers in view of the spread of Covid-19 in 2020.
As per the detailed report on Air Quality Index received from the Chandigarh Pollution Control Committee, the air quality during the Diwali month in the year 2020 and 2021was found to be satisfactory, therefore Chandigarh Administration has allowed the use of green crackers in the city. The green crackers had been developed by the National Environmental and Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), a subsidiary of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).