Uttar Pradesh takes this big decision on ban of firecrackers ahead of Diwali; here's how it will impact you

The Uttar Pradesh government on Tuesday announced a major decision on the ban of firecrackers in the state ahead of Diwali.

As per an official order, the sale and use of all kinds of firecrackers have been banned in NCR region, Muzaffarnagar, Agra, Varanasi, Meerut, Hapur, Ghaziabad, Kanpur, Lucknow, Moradabad, Noida, Greater Noida, Baghpat, Bulandshahr.

The ban will be effective from midnight of November 9-10 to midnight of November 30-December 1. The ban will be reviewed thereafter, added the order. The districts where air quality is 'moderate' or better, only green crackers will be sold and used, said the Uttar Pradesh government.

"Sale/use of all kinds of firecrackers banned in NCR (Muzaffarnagar, Agra, Varanasi, Meerut, Hapur, Ghaziabad, Kanpur, Lucknow, Moradabad, Noida, Greater Noida, Baghpat, Bulandshahr) from midnight Nov 9-10 to midnight of Nov 30-Dec 1, to be reviewed thereafter," read the order.

It added, "Districts where air quality is 'moderate' or better, only green crackers be sold and used."

Earlier news agency IANS had said that the Yogi Adityanath government will comply with the orders of National Green Tribunal (NGT) regarding firecrackers on Diwali. According to the Additional Chief Secretary, Home, Avanish Awasthi, "The NGT`s order is a detailed one and we will comply with it. The air quality is deteriorating and steps have to be taken to address the issue."

Cities including Prayagraj, Bareilly, Firozabad, Jhansi, and RaeBareli may also go in for a complete ban on the use of crackers during Diwali.

A senior official said that District Magistrates will be taking a decision, keeping in mind the pollution level in their respective districts. Among the firecrackers banned in Lucknow are the most preferred `ladis` or `chatai` (cracker series) and similar high decibel crackers.

"Sale of only those crackers that are in compliance with the Supreme Court`s order would be allowed," said Naveen Arora, Joint Commissioner of Police (JCP). "On festivals like Diwali and Gurupurab, fireworks would be allowed only between 8 pm and 10 pm. On Christmas and New Year`s Eve, fireworks may start from 11.55 pm and continue till 12.30 am," the guidelines had said as per IANS.

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Besides, the district administration has defined `No Cracker Zones` in the city, including hospital, nursing homes, educational institutions, court and zoological gardens. Agra Additional District Magistrate, Ajay Tiwari, said that bursting of firecrackers will not be allowed. "Instructions have already been issued to all police stations to initiate strong action against the storage of firecrackers or their use," he said.

Agra District Magistrate Prabhu Nath Singh, said: "No fresh license for the sale of firecrackers is being issued. All renewals too are on hold and so is the practice of issuing a temporary license." Agra has been one of the highly polluted cities in Uttar Pradesh this season.