Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru

Bengaluru, Nov 4: In line with Supreme Court’s order restricting time of bursting fire crackers to only two hours, the Karnataka government has passed directives that crackers can be burst in the state only between 8 pm and 10 pm from November 5 to 8.

In a circular dated November 2, the state government has banned the sale of chain-firecrackers such as ‘maley pataki’, in an attempt to curb noise pollution.

The circular also directs each district administration to carry out awareness drives about the ill effects and hazards of firecrackers. Not just that, all municipals corporations, district administrations, zilla and gram panchayats have been asked to keep a watch on those who burst crackers as part of community-organised events. The police personnel have been directed to take action against those violating the court’s order.

On October 23, in an attempt to curb pollution caused by the crackers, the Supreme Court had permitted the bursting of firecrackers between 8 pm and 10 pm for Deepavali across the country. During Christmas and New Year’s Eve, crackers can be burst between 11.55 pm and 12.30 am.

On October 30, the apex court modified the order, saying the southern states can burst firecrackers anytime in the day, for two hours during Deepavali, after Tamil Nadu went to the Supreme Court and stated that states should be able to choose any two hours.

The apex court also restrained e-commerce websites like Flipkart and Amazon from selling firecrackers.

The Supreme Court’s order on October 23 came on a plea seeking a ban on manufacture and sale of firecrackers across the country to curb air pollution.

The plea invoked right to life, enshrined in Article 21 of the constitution, to impose the ban on firecrackers. However the judges noted that even cracker manufacturers had right to life and therefore sought “balance” while considering a nation-wide ban.