No 'green crackers' in the market, says shopkeepers as police urges for 'Green Diwali' in Delhi

Shopkeepers put firecrackers inside green vegetables (Courtesy: ANI)

The Supreme Court had banned the sale of firecrackers in the national capital due to increase in pollution and as a solution had introduced green crackers in the market but the Sadar Bazaar Welfare Association (SBWA) has another story to tell. 

SBWA on Wednesday staged a protest against the apex court order on green crackers stating that there is no such things as green crackers in the market. The Association is putting firecrackers inside green vegetables.

The president of the association HS Chhabra said, "We don't even know what green crackers are. There are no green crackers in the market."

The top court had on October 23, said that people in the country can burst firecrackers from 8 pm to 10 pm only on Diwali and other festivals and had allowed manufacture and sale of just "green crackers" which have a low emission of light, sound and harmful chemicals.

The police, meanwhile, has been organising street plays, making radio announcements and visiting educational institutions, to promote green crackers.

Meetings have also been held with market welfare associations and residents welfare associations in this regard, Nupur Prasad, Deputy Commissioner of Police (north) said.

She said pamphlets have been distributed and posters pasted in shopping malls and market areas appealing public to follow the Supreme Court directions. The police have been regularly making announcements through loudspeakers in several localities, including residential areas and marketplaces, a senior police officer said.

Chhabra, on the other hand, says that the police has not provided them with the list of crackers. "When we asked them (SHOs), they said they'll give us a list of crackers. But the next day they said it'll take 2 more days," Chhabra added.

While the police have been working to promote the apex court's order, the Welfare association thinks it should have been done a year in advance. 

Prasad had earlier on November 1 held a meeting with licenced firecracker traders, retailers and citizen bodies to discussed the Supreme Court's order of banning the sale of firecrackers other than green crackers in Delhi-NCR.

In the meeting, it was discussed that retailers can only sell crackers certified by Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO).

(With Agency Inputs)