The government of Tamil Nadu on Friday announced the timings for bursting crackers in the state to celebrate Deepavali. According to a press release by the government, people in Tamil Nadu will be allowed to burst crackers from 6 am to 7 am and from 7 pm to 8 pm on the day of Deepavali, November 6.
On October 23, in an attempt to rein in the pollution caused by the crackers, the Supreme Court had permitted the bursting of firecrackers between 8 and 10 pm for Deepavali across the country. The order by the SC comes after a PIL had sought a ban on the manufacture and sale of firecrackers in the country.
The Tamil Nadu government had requested a bigger window to burst crackers in the state on account of the tradition of celebrating Deepavali early in the morning.
“It is respectfully submitted that unless this Honourable Court passes appropriate further orders in the nature of modification or direction of its order dated 23.10.2018 passed in the present Writ Petition, to enable the people of Tamil Nadu burst firecrackers in the early morning of Diwali as well, the same would amount to rejecting the people with their due religious rights and would also subject the people of Tamil Nadu into much hardship. It is further submitted that permitting bursting of the firecrackers in the morning also is in the interest of both the environment and the people,” stated the petition submitted by the government of Tamil Nadu at the SC.
This request was denied by the apex court, which modified the order and stated that the timing for bursting crackers is determined by respective state governments. Justice AK Sikri, however, had stated that the time should not exceed two hours a day during the festival.
“Since two hours is not enough to burst crackers, the Tamil Nadu government had requested an additional two hours to the SC. Refusing to grant any additional time for bursting crackers, the apex court ordered that the state government can decide the timings to implement the two-hour rule,” reads the press release from the Tamil Nadu government.
The press release also serves as an advisory for bursting firecrackers in the state by giving a list of do’s and don’t’s to the people while lighting fireworks.