E-Paper
21 Haryana districts ban firecrackers
Ban has been imposed in 14 districts of the national capital region (NCR), including Bhiwani, Charkhi Dadri, Faridabad, Gurugram, Jhajjar, Jind, Karnal, Mahendergarh, Nuh, Palwal, Paniat, Rewari, Rohtak and Sonepat.
With three days to go for Diwali, district administrations issued fresh directions banning sale and bursting of crackers in all districts where air quality was categorised ‘poor’ or worse in November last year. As many as 21 districts of the state fit the bill.
Ban has been imposed in 14 districts of the national capital region (NCR), including Bhiwani, Charkhi Dadri, Faridabad, Gurugram, Jhajjar, Jind, Karnal, Mahendergarh, Nuh, Palwal, Paniat, Rewari, Rohtak and Sonepat. The ban will remain effect from November 9 midnight to November 30.
The district administrations of seven other districts, including Ambala, Fatehabad, Hisar, Kaithal, Kurukshetra, Sirsa and Yamunanagar, have also imposed a ban on sale and bursting of fire crackers as the air quality of these districts was measured ‘poor’ to ‘severe’ on the air quality index (AQI) last year. Only Panchkula passed muster as its air quality was classified ‘moderate’ last November.
The order has led to rampant confusion as the AQI of only district headquarters is measured and the state pollution control board does not have reports on the AQI of small towns and villages.
On being asked how towns without Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations (CAAQMS) were taking a call on the ban, Haryana State Pollution Control Board member secretary S Narayanan said, “We have CAAQMS in all district headquarters. As we don’t have CAAQMS in all towns, the air quality of district headquarters will represent the entire district”.
All Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) regional officers have been directed to initiate special drives to contain air pollution to prevent the Covid situation from aggravating.
