Haryana cracks whip ahead of Diwali, bans sale and use of firecrackers in 14 districts

Chandigarh: The Haryana government on Sunday imposed a total ban on the sale and use of firecrackers in its 14 districts that come under the National Capital Region with immediate effect."There will be a total ban on sale and use of all kinds of firecrackers in Bhiwani, Charkhi Dadri, Faridabad, Gurugram, Jhajjar, Jind, Karnal, Mahendergarh, Nuh, Palwal, Panipat, Rewari, Rohtak and Sonipat," a government order on the regulation of sale and use of fire crackers in the state, read.The directive will also apply to all cities and towns in the state where the average ambient air quality for November (as per last year's data) comes under "poor" and above categories.Only green crackers shall be sold in cities and towns where the air quality is in the "moderate" or below category, the order said, adding that the bursting of crackers during Diwali and other festivals such as Gurupurab will be allowed only from 8 pm to 10 pm.For Chatt festival, the same will be allowed from 6 am to 8 am, it said.Fireworks will be permitted from 11.55 pm on 24 December to 12.30 am on 25 December and from 11.55 pm on 31 December to 12.30 am on 1 January, for Christmas and New Year, it pointed out.The Haryana State Pollution Control Board will separately issue a list of these cities and towns and make it available on its website.Bursting of firecrackers in communities will be promoted in areas where there is no ban, it said, adding that designated areas will be pre-identified by the authorities concerned.Only green crackers shall be allowed even for marriages and other occasions, the noted.The sale of crackers shall only be through licensed traders and e-commerce portals, including Flipkart and Amazon, will not be permitted to sell crackers, it said.