After announcing the ban on bursting of firecrackers, Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa caved in to public pressure on Friday and allowed the sale and bursting of “green crackers”. The Chief Minister issued an order on Friday evening stating that in view of the safety of persons with COVID-19 and those susceptible to respiratory infections, sale and bursting of only green crackers would be allowed.
“We received many suggestions after we proposed a ban on firecrackers this Deepavali. People should celebrate in a simple manner considering the safety of their children and themselves. I request people to burst only green crackers and celebrate the festival in a simple way,” Yediyurappa said in a tweet.
The order issued allowed the sale of green firecrackers only. On Friday afternoon, Chief Minister Yediyurappa held a press conference and announced that bursting of firecrackers would be banned during this Deepavali. The Chief Minister said that the decision was taken after consulting with public health experts.
Soon after the decision was announced, there was a major backlash on social media, where people trolled the BJP government for its decision and called Yediyurappa anti-Hindu. Hours after announcing the ban, Yediyurappa reversed his decision and allowed the sale and bursting of green crackers.
Green crackers are developed by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI). These do not contain lithium, arsenic, lead and barium in them. The scientists have called these crackers Safe Water Releaser (SWAS), Safe Thermite Cracker (STAR) and Safe Minimal Aluminium (SAFAL) crackers.
However, these help reduce particulate matter only by 40% and are not completely environment-friendly. The National Green Tribunal on Thursday said the use of green crackers would not help reduce pollution in New Delhi and that it would create a “gas chamber-like” situation. In this view, the tribunal had asked state and Union governments to ban green crackers too.