Srinagar: A committee set-up by the Jammu and Kashmir government on Wednesday recommended use of green crackers in the capital cities of Jammu and Srinagar and warned of action if there was any violation.
According to an official communiqué, the state executive committee has issued the directions for regulating the activities related to sale and use of firecrackers in Jammu, Srinagar and recommended use of green crackers only, reported news agency KNO.
In a handout, the government said, “Only green crackers shall be permitted for sale and use in the cities of Jammu and Srinagar.”
Besides, the use and bursting of green crackers “shall be restricted to only two hours during the festivals. The timing shall be from 8 pm to 10 pm on Diwali and Gurupurnab; from 6 am to 8 am on Chhatt and from 11:55 pm to 12: 30 am on the eve of Christmas,” the handout said.
It stated that all the Deputy Commissioners shall execute extensive public awareness campaigns regarding the same.
It authorized J&K State Pollution Control Board to carryout short-term monitoring in the cities for 14 days (commencing immediately) for the parameters namely, Aluminum, Barium, Iron apart from the regulatory parameters against the short-term Ambient Air Quality Criteria Values (AAQCVS) proposed by CPCB with regard to bursting of firecrackers. This will help in generation of data on pollution caused by the bursting of firecrackers and would be helpful for regulation and control of quality of Aluminum, Barium, and Iron used in the manufacture of firecrackers, KNO reported.
Any violation of the above directions will invite immediate penal action under section 51 to 61 of the Disaster Management Act 2005 besides legal action under section 188 of the IPC and others provisions as applicable, the order added.
