Fire crackers banned in Guwahati city

* Only 'green crackers' allowed for two hours in other places across the State

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: There will be total ban on the sale or use of all kinds of fire crackers in Guwahati city till the midnight of November 30. This was stated in a notification from the Pollution Control Board, Assam. Mentionably the ban came into force from the midnight of November 9.

The notification added, "Except Guwahati, in other areas only green crackers can be sold; and bursting is allowed only for two hours during the Deepawali festivals from 8 pm to 10 pm; during the Chatt Puja from 6 am to 8 am and during Christmas and New year eve from 11:55 pm to 12:30 am.

The District Magistrates (DMs), Commissioners and the Superintendents of Police (SPs) will implement the directions, the notification said, adding that the 'Daily Action Taken Reports' will have to be submitted to the Board.

Moreover to stop the use of fire crackers at source, the PCBA officials will carry-out inspections and monitoring of the commercial stockists of fire crackers. In this regard, the Board has requested the DCs (Deputy Commissioners) to depute one officer of magistrate rank to accompany the Board's monitoring team.

The above moves have been undertaken following directions from the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and also due to the fact that "the bursting of fire crackers releases copious amount of harmful chemicals, which have severe impact on the respiratory health of vulnerable groups." The Board also stated that such pollutants can further aggravate the health conditions of persons suffering from COVID-19 besides other people.

In compliance to the directions of the Supreme Court of India and also the Central Pollution Control Board, Delhi, the officials of PCBA already carried out monitoring of the 'Ambient Air Quality' and the 'Noise level' on the 'pre-Deepawali Day' (November 9, 2020). They will carry out similar monitoring also on the Deepawali Day (November 14) at certain location in Guwahati, Dibrugarh, Nagaon, Sivasagar, Golaghat, Tezpur, Silchar and Bongaigaon. Moreover, they are monitoring the 'Ambient Air Quality' since November 7; and the process will continue till November 21. The Board added that the steps have been taken keeping in view the need of public interest to curb high air pollution in Guwahati which is bracketed as "poor" in the 'Air Quality Index' (AQI).

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