Non-Green firecrackers flood the city despite ban

By Aratrika Dey

Quite a few shops are found to be selling non-green firecrackers in the city, despite the Karnataka government ban on the sale of non-green merchandise. Initially, the ban included firecrackers of all grades. However, it was altered to allow only green crackers to be sold to the public. 

Vendors have been caught selling non-green crackers out in the open by netizens. Videos are being circulated on Twitter where people can be seen bursting non-green crackers. The police have said that they have started taking measures to enforce the ban and restrict the sales of crackers to the ones classified ‘green’. “Those selling non-green crackers will have to face legal action as per relevant sections of the Explosives Act.”, says a senior officer from the Bengaluru City Police. The Twitterati have tagged authorities on their tweets and implored them to take action against these rulebreakers. 

What are green crackers? How are they different?

‘Green crackers’ are a creation of the Council of Scientific Industrial Research’s National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI). In comparison to the normal firecrackers, these crackers have a reduced shell size and produce 30% less emissions. They are also said to emit 125 decibels of sounds compared to the 160 decibels by ‘non-green’ firecrackers.  

The raw materials used in the formula to make these crackers are significantly eco-friendly and reduce PM 2.5 pollutants, sulfur, and nitrogen dioxide emissions. Unlike the non-green variants, green crackers do not contain lithium, lead, barium, and arsenic.

How to identify a green cracker from a normal one?

Green crackers are manufactured only when manufacturers use CSIR-NEERi’s formula. They are easily distinguishable from their non-green colleagues with a ‘green fireworks’ logo or QR codes printed on the packets of the firecrackers which people can scan and identify the classification for themselves. 

Why was a ban necessary?

Bengaluru amongst a few other cities in the state was declared a ‘non-attainment’ city by the National Green Tribunal (NGT). These cities have been flagged because the air quality is polluted beyond the suggested National Ambient Air Quality Standards, as per the records of the Central Pollution Control Board.

Fireworks release metal particles, toxins, harmful chemicals, and smoke in the air, causing extensive air pollution within a short time. Experts have observed that the smoke released from bursting crackers can badly impact the health of individuals suffering from COVID-19 and even those who are not. On a similar tangent, the bangs released during the explosions are harmful to senior citizens and individuals with heart conditions. 

Not always do the emitted toxins get dissolved in the air, or disintegrate entirely, which leads to the surrounding air being polluted for quite some time. As the world is in the middle of a climate emergency, such extensive pollution will only serve to aggravate the already-worsened conditions.