Karnataka permits only eco-friendly crackers for Diwali, gives 2-hr window to burst them. Details
Karnataka CM mandates eco-friendly crackers for Diwali, ensuring safety and environmental protection.
In view of the Diwali festival, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday announced that only eco-friendly green crackers should be permitted for sale in the state. He emphasized the importance of ensuring there are no injuries, damages, or fatalities related to firecrackers in the state while addressing the deputy commissioners from all districts, news agency PTI reported.
“Deepavali is approaching. The Supreme Court has given guidelines on what kind of crackers should be burst. Only green crackers should be sold and they should be burst from 8 pm to 10 pm,” Siddaramaiah said after the meeting, as quoted by the agency.
The deputy commissioners have been tasked with inspecting firecracker shops throughout their jurisdictions.
ALSO READ | New vigilance team in Bengaluru to enforce firecracker safety rules ahead of Diwali: Report
“The district officials should register cases against shopkeepers who sell crackers other than green ones, if they do not follow safety regulations, do not sell them at the designation place and do not have proper warehouses to store them,” the CM said.
Highlighting the need to safeguard the environment, he added, “I have also informed the DCs that there should not be any harm, injuries or deaths due to crackers in their districts.”
This comes on the heels of the establishment of a vigilance committee in Bengaluru to enforce stricter regulations on the sale of firecrackers in the city ahead of the festival of lights, aiming to ensure compliance with safety rules. G. Jagadish, the Bengaluru Urban Deputy Commissioner, spoke to reporters about the matter and emphasized the necessity for officials to conduct thorough spot inspections before granting permission for any firecracker sales.
The initiative comes in the backdrop of a tragic incident in Attibele last year, where a fire at a cracker storage facility resulted in the loss of as many as 17 lives.
(With inputs from PTI)