Jharkhand allows bursting of firecrackers for 2 hours on Diwali

People of Jharkhand can burst firecrackers for two hours  between 8 pm and 10 pm  on the day of Diwali, the state's pollution control body said in an order on Thursday.

In the urban areas of several districts including Ranchi where the pollution level is moderate, only green crackers will be allowed, as per the November 9 ruling of the National Green Tribunal.

These districts included Ranchi, Ramgarh, Bokaro, Palamu, East Singhbhum, West Singhbhum, Seraikela-Kharswan, Hazaribagh, Giridih, Dhanbad, Deoghar, Godda, Pakur and Sahibganj, Jharkhand State Pollution Control Board Member Secretary Rajiv Lochan Bakshi said in the order.

In rural areas of these districts and elsewhere in the state, crackers that emit up to 125 decibels of sound can be burst from 8 pm to 10 pm on Diwali, the order said.

Violation of the order will invite penal action, it said.

The Pollution Control Board also said that only two hours will be allowed to burst crackers on the occasion of Chhat puja and Gurpurab, but the timings will be different.

Firecrackers can be used from 8 pm to 10 pm on Grupurab and between 6 am and 8 am on Chhat.

People can celebrate Christmas and New Year's Eve by bursting firecrackers only from 11.55 pm to 12.30 am, the order said.

"The cities/towns where air quality is 'moderate' or below, only green crackers be sold, and the timings for use and bursting of crackers be restricted to two hours during festivals like Diwali, Chhath, New Year/Christmas Eve etc., as may be specified by the state concerned," the NGT said in its November 9 order.