Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)

Bengaluru, Nov 13: On Thursday November 12, the state high court expressed strong resentment at the measures undertaken by the government to issue order placing a ban on firecrackers because of prevalence of COVID 19 pandemic, which it said, is unclear.

It ordered the government to issue a clear order duly explaining what green firecrackers are and inform the court its clear stand on the issue on Friday morning.

A high court division bench headed by Chief Justice, A S Oka, took up for consideration a petition filed by Dr A S Vishnu Bharath, a chartered accountant, seeking a ban on all kinds of firecrackers. Government advocate Vikram Huilgol, who appeared on behalf of the government, said that two orders, one on November 6 and the other on November 10, have been issued by the government. In the first order, guidelines about firecrackers have been mentioned, and in the second, only the use of green firecrackers has been allowed, he clarified.

The high court observed that there is lack of clarity in both the orders, and the orders are meaningless. "The order has not clarified what green firecrackers are. Is it for the people to decide which constitute green firecrackers? Are you giving them a free licence to decide that? How to find out if other firecrackers are sold in the name of green firecrackers?" the bench angrily questioned. The judges asked the government to issue fresh, clear orders and file report in the court on Friday morning. "Firecrackers will create high amount of air pollution. This pollution may pave way for the spread of coronavirus. If the petition was filed sufficiently in advance, we would have issued strong orders. If proper steps are not taken, we may have to ban all firecrackers," the bench warned.

The bench also asked Karnataka State Pollution Control Board to provide measures undertaken by it to measure air pollution.