Firecracker ban order goes up in smoke this Diwali

Patna, Gaya, Muzaffarpur and Hajipur came under the ambit of the BSPCB ban as they were the only four cities in Bihar then that had air quality monitoring stations, and their AQI was either poor (151 or higher), very poor or severe.

People continued to use firecrackers on the eve of Diwali Wednesday, despite the Bihar State Pollution Control Board (BSPCB)’s blanket ban on their sale and use in four cities of Bihar.

Decorated Chandani market in Patna on Wednesday. (Santosh Kumar/HT Photo)

The BSPCB notified the ban last month in Patna, Gaya, Muzaffarpur and Hajipur, in light of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) order that put an embargo on the sale and use of firecrackers in cities where the average air quality index (AQI) was poor, very poor and severe, as per the assessment in November 2019.

Patna, Gaya, Muzaffarpur and Hajipur came under the ambit of the BSPCB ban as they were the only four cities in Bihar then that had air quality monitoring stations, and their AQI was either poor (151 or higher), very poor or severe.

Green firecrackers are, however, permitted in other cities, having AQI level better than “poor”, said a BSPCB officer.

“Since ours is a regulatory body and not the enforcing agency, we inform the district administration about any violation of our orders and request it to take action. The Supreme Court has made the superintendent of police and station house officer of the police station concerned, responsible for any violation of its order,” said the officer quoted above, when asked about the violation of its ban order in the state.

Meanwhile, BSPCB personnel have fanned out across the state to collect samples of firecrackers and check if they conform to the “green cracker” norms, prescribed by the Supreme Court (SC).

Green crackers are the invention of the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) and they are similar to traditional firecrackers from sound to appearance, but when they burn, they produce up to 50% less harmful gases.

The BSPCB action follows complaints that normal firecrackers were being sold under the garb of “green firecrackers”, said a BSPCB officer, refusing to be identified.

“We have instructed our regional offices in Patna, Gaya, Muzaffarpur, Barauni and Purnia to collect samples of firecrackers. We shall send them for test to laboratories approved by the Central Pollution Control Board outside the state. Outlets selling green firecrackers, not conforming to norms, will be penalised,” said Prof Ashok Kumar Ghosh, chairman, BSPCB.

As per specifications for green firecrackers, they should not contain barium nitrate and potassium nitrate and should be less in size, ash content and explosive raw materials, as compared to normal firecrackers. They are also supposed to carry Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR)-NEERI marking on them, another officer said.

Four teams, comprising three members each, have been constituted in Patna, while separate teams have been constituted at the five regional offices of the BSPCB to monitor ambient air quality and noise level during Diwali.

“The need for separate teams to monitor AQI level for 15 days — seven days before and seven days after the Diwali festival on November 4 — in addition to our continuous air quality monitoring stations at 11 locations, was felt because the sensors of our air quality monitoring stations do not detect the presence of heavy metals, which cause severe respiratory distress,” said Prof Ghosh.

“The use of heavy metals, including strontium, lead, arsenic, cadmium, tin, barium and zinc, in firecrackers is likely to cause severe respiratory distress in Covid-19 patients or those who are gradually recovering from it, necessitating the ban,” added Prof Ghosh.

The NGT had also directed that the licence for the sale of firecrackers be also cancelled in cities having poor AQI and the district administration should ensure effective implementation of the ban