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NEW DELHI (Reuters) – The Supreme Court of India on Tuesday authorized the use of "safe and green" firecrackers during Diwali festivities next month, but it is unclear how the rules will be applied to a time when millions of fireworks will add to the country's toxic pollution.
A woman and her son are sitting in their firecrackers shop in the old quarters of Delhi, India, on October 17, 2018. REUTERS / Adnan Abidi
Every year, firecracker smoke covers New Delhi and its satellite towns with a cloud that can linger for days when the wind speed decreases in cold weather, compounding the pollution caused by crop residue incineration. exhaust gas and industrial gases.
In India, where the 14 most polluted cities in the world were, activists had asked the Supreme Court to ban fireworks altogether, as pollution increased in the capital, New Delhi, in front of Diwali.
But authorities have been reluctant to impose a total ban in order to avoid offending millions of Hindus across the country, for which Diwali is one of the biggest festivals.
A bench of two judges said that firecrackers would be allowed during Diwali, Christmas and New Year, under certain conditions.
Only "safe and green firecrackers" would be allowed and, according to the television channel, the television channels quoted by the television for a maximum of two hours a day. Online sales have been banned.
The Delhi Air Quality Index, which measures the concentration of toxic particles, has risen above 300 in recent days. Anything over 100 is considered unhealthy.
Environmentalist Vimlendu Jha said there were no environmentally-friendly fireworks and criticized the court's decision, while others expressed concern over the way in which orders issued by the courts will be applied.
"Your only decision to allow the sale and use of firecrackers in the current times, while half of our country turns into a gas chamber, will kill toddlers, children and people older people, "said Jha in a Tweet.
New Delhi accounts for nearly half of India's demand for firecrackers, although Diwali is celebrated nationwide.
"This decision should have been made earlier, because the manufacturers are ready to use all kinds of firecrackers and it will be very difficult to stop them," said Sunil Dahiya, a Greenpeace activist.
(For a graph on pollution in India, see tmsnrt.rs/2OnHG61)
Additional report by Suchitra Mohanty; Written by Neha Dasgupta; Edited by Sanjeev Miglani
