Bhubaneswar: The Odisha State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB) has issued a set of guidelines for Diwali celebrations, urging people to opt for green crackers and adhere to safety precautions to minimise air and noise pollution during the festival.
The Board has communicated the advisory to all district collectors and informed the state government. Although the Air Quality Index (AQI) across Odisha is currently within the satisfactory range, authorities are monitoring the situation to prevent a post-Diwali deterioration in air quality.
Niranjan Mallik, Chief Environmental Scientist of the OSPCB, said the advisory had been published in newspapers, reiterating the Supreme Court’s appeal to people to use green crackers instead of conventional firecrackers.
He said traditional firecrackers contain hazardous chemicals, including barium nitrate, lead, arsenic and lithium, which can adversely affect human health and the environment.
Mallik said consumers could identify genuine green crackers by checking the logos and QR codes provided by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research–National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI).
The advisory also stresses precautions to protect children and curb noise pollution. People have been advised against allowing children below 10 years of age to burst noise-producing firecrackers. The permissible noise level of firecrackers should not exceed 125 decibels, he said.
Mallik said Odisha’s AQI was presently between 0 and 50, indicating satisfactory air quality. However, he cautioned that pollution levels could rise if people ignored the prescribed guidelines.
The Board has appealed to the public to celebrate Diwali responsibly by choosing environment-friendly crackers and complying with the safety norms to safeguard public health and the environment.
