According to a Delhi Pollution Control Committee directive, the production, sale, and use of firecrackers in the nation's capital is prohibited until January 1.?An official said the ban comes into effect immediately.
The early announcement of the ban this year will likely give ample time to the city administration and police to put in place a mechanism to check the illegal manufacturing, sale, and use of firecrackers.
"There will be a complete ban on the manufacturing, storage, selling (including delivery through online marketing platforms) and bursting of all kinds of firecrackers up to January 1, 2023 (sic)," it read.
The Delhi government issued a blanket ban on fireworks last year, which would last until January 1, 2022. Fifteen special teams also conducted the district-level aggressive campaign against the sale and use of firecrackers.
Haryana also banned the sale or use of all kinds of firecrackers in 14 of its districts in the National Capital Region. At the same time, Uttar Pradesh allowed the use of green crackers on Diwali for two hours in areas with moderate or better air quality.
Despite the restrictions, people burst firecrackers till late at night in Delhi, Noida, Faridabad, and Gurugram during festivities such as Diwali.?Fireworks led to significant changes in PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations in Delhi on Diwali night (November 4, 2021), according to the DPCC.
Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai then alleged that the BJP instigated people to defy the ban on firecrackers on Diwali by linking it to religion.
The National Green Tribunal, on December 2, 2020, ordered a total ban on the sale and use of all kinds of firecrackers in the NCR and all cities with poor or worse ambient air quality.
In October, the air quality in Delhi and the surrounding areas began to deteriorate due to adverse meteorological conditions like low temperatures and high wind speeds that prevent the dispersion of pollutants.
A cocktail of emissions from firecrackers on Diwali and stubble burning in neighboring states worsens the situation. A study led by IIT-Delhi says that biomass burning emissions, rather than fireworks, drive the poor air quality in the national capital during the days following Diwali.?
According to the Ministry of Earth Sciences air quality forecaster SAFAR, stubble burning accounted for 25% of PM2.5 pollution in Delhi on Diwali last year, 32% in 2020, and 19% in 2019.?
(With PTI inputs)
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