Thiruvananthapuram: Hassles for green Diwali'

Thiruvananthapuram: Enforcing the Supreme Court's directive to ensure a 'green Diwali' this year is going to be a herculean task for the authorities.  The SC, in its ruling on Tuesday, has imposed major controls on firecrackers and permitted a two-hour time period from 8 - 10 pm for bursting crackers. The court has also given a strict directive that firecrackers with permissible smoke and sound limits will only be allowed to be sold in the market.  

Pollution Control Board (PCB) Chairman K Sajeevan told DC that a comprehensive awareness drive is the only way to implement the court order. "As part of our action plan, the Board is planning to launch an awareness drive at every school in the state to educate the children on the harmful effects of noise and environment pollution caused by firecrackers," said Mr Sajeevan.

The PCB has already banned firecrackers above 125 decibel. Mr Sajeevan said that a meeting will be convened with the district administration, police and fire and rescue services to draw up a comprehensive action plan to enforce the SC order.  

PCB Member Secretary T.A. Thankappan said that the board is planning to launch a special drive from November 1 to 14 to check smoke and noise levels in the state. "The two-hour time period from 8 to 10 pm for bursting crackers should be enforced by the local police," said Mr Thankappan.

However, K Jayakumar of Thanal, NGO, said that the authorities are ill-equipped to crack down on Chinese firecrackers, which flood the market every year. "Though the noise level of Chinese firecrackers is low, the presence of high level of synthetic components in the crackers could pose a serious threat to health and environment.  The authorities have no idea to find out how toxic the fumes emanating from Chinese crackers are," said Mr Jayakumar. 

"I welcome the SC directive. However, the lifestyle and living environment of people have changed drastically over the years. People don't live on the ground level anymore. Most of them live in high rise building and noise pollution level would be different when we burst a cracker in a fifth storey building," he added.