Chennai, Oct 9 (KNN) As government has launched green crackers to deal with the menace of pollution, the fireworks industry in Sivakasi, which was facing closure after the Supreme Court in 2018 banned conventional firecrackers with high emission levels, have got a big sigh of relief. 

Now they have new and improved formulations meeting the stipulated guidelines of green crackers.

Speaking with KNN India about this recent development in firecrackers industry in Sivakasi, the President of Tamil Nadu Fireworks and Amorces Manufacturers’ Association (TANFAMA), P Ganesan said, “We have started the production of green crackers in the month of April as per government norms and it will be available everywhere in the country."

The move will help control pollution as well as take care of people's sentiments, he added.

He further indicated that the cost of the green crackers is almost same as that of regular crackers and will be least pollutant compared to conventional firecrackers.

During the press conference while launching the green crackers, Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan informed that a green logo as well as a Quick Response (QR) coding system has been developed for differentiation of green crackers from conventional crackers.

QR codes is a novel feature incorporated on the fire crackers to avoid manufacture and sale of counterfeit products. This will also help the consumers to track the cracker using smart phones and other devices.

Vardhan said, “I am very happy that on one hand we would be using eco-friendly crackers this Deepawali, and, on the other hand our traditional festival celebrations with lights and fire crackers shall remain intact. Millions of homes which are dependent on sale and manufacture of fireworks will also rejoice this festival, thanks to our scientists!”

However, Ganesan mentioned that the time is very less to introduce green crackers logo and QR code as Diwali is just few weeks away.

About 530 emissions testing certificates have been issued to fireworks manufactures for new and improved formulations meeting the stipulated guidelines of green crackers.

Last year protecting the environment from further alarming level of air pollution, Supreme Court banned the fireworks with barium salts, such as barium nitrate to produce colourful flames in pyrotechnics as it emits toxic fumes, causing high levels of air pollution.

The Supreme Court had banned conventional firecrackers and ruled that only green crackers with reduced emission will be allowed to be manufactured and sold in the country in order to control the pollution level. It also fixed a two-hour window for the bursting of crackers.