West Bengal to sell only green crackers with QR codes this Diwali

This Diwali, the West Bengal government has decided to allow the sale of only green crackers with QR codes due to the state of increasing air pollution. 

While talking to news agency ANI, Babla Roy, Chairman of Sara Bangla, Aatishbaji Unnayan Samiti, said, “We have set up four main markets in Kolkata, which are at Tala, Maidan, Behala and Kalikapur. A total of 44 shops will be set up in Tala, 32 in Maidan, 21 in Behala and 21 in Kalikapur, all of which are permitted to sell green crackers.”

"Firecracker market will open from November 6 to November 12, with hours ranging from 10 am to 10 pm," he added

In addition, he also said that firecrackers without a green label were illegal and banned.

The CSIR-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR NEERI) defines "green crackers" as firecrackers that have a smaller shell, don't produce ash, and/or have additives like dust suppressants to lower emissions, primarily particulate matter.

These crackers do not contain barium compounds that give them their unique green tint.

Roy added that the state government has prohibited the production of crackers for at least three months as a result of multiple cracker blast events. As a result, the cracker industry in Bengal has been affected.

"Due to this, crackers were not manufactured as per demand and only 40 per cent of the actual demand for green crackers was manufactured in Bengal this year, which is not enough for this festive season. So we decided to import green crackers from Sivakasi and the rest of the other states of India. 40 per cent of green crackers are imported from Sivakasi, 20 per cent from across the country and the rest from Bengal manufacturers,"  Roy said.

“The National Environmental Engineering Research Institute has made a special QR code that indicates whether the crackers are environmentally friendly or not."DCP Reserve Force Kolkata Police, Abhishek Gupta was quoted as saying by ANI. 

(With agency inputs)