Know Green Firecrackers You Can Use This Diwali In Odisha

Bhubaneswar: As per the Orissa High Court order on Monday, the sale and bursting of only green crackers is allowed this Diwali.

While announcing the order, the HC said only green crackers approved by the Petroleum & Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) can be used. Now, what are green crackers and which are recommended by PESO? Read on to know.

Green crackers are environmentally friendly fireworks which can reduce the air pollution caused by traditional firecrackers. These crackers have been developed by the National Environmental and Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), a laboratory of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). The CSIR has signed an agreement with around 230 companies for manufacture and sale of these crackers.

Following are the details of green crackers:

• These crackers are expected to cause at least 30% less air pollution compared to the traditional firecrackers
• To differentiate green crackers from the regular ones, the system of Quick Response (QR) code has been developed
• These crackers have been named based on Safe Water Releaser (SWAS), Safe Thermite Cracker (STAR), and Safe Minimal Aluminium (SAFAL)
• The manufacturing cost of these crackers is almost same or less than the traditional crackers

The basic difference between the green crackers and traditional crackers is that the former do not have barium nitrate which is one of the most hazardous elements in the latter.

On July 7, PESO approved 169 firecracker units, mostly at Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu. The following firecrackers produced by these units can be used by the people during Diwali in the state this year:

• Flower pots
• Pencils
• Sparklers
• Maroons
• Single sound bombs
• Maroon crackers
• Crackling aerial
• Sutali bomb
• Pencil
• Chakkar