In a bid to curb air pollution, the Supreme Court of India imposed a partial ban on fireworks ahead of the festive season. A two-member bench declined to impose a complete ban on fireworks across the country, but put certain conditions on their sale and use on different occasions, including Diwali. Considering widespread concerns about air pollution, the bench comprising Justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan fixed a time window to use fireworks, a two-hour window between 8 to 10 pm on Diwali. They also gave a 45-minute window between 11:45 pm to 12:30 am on Christmas Eve and New Year. Announcing the verdict, the apex court also specified that only “green crackers” — which have low smoke emission and permissible sound limits — can be sold through licensed traders. The court also said that e-commerce companies will be held in contempt of court if they listed traders who sell fireworks online. The verdict created a huge buzz online and netizens were divided. While many celebrated the order and thanked the court for its orders, others were miffed. While some complained that it will mar celebrations; others said that Diwali is a festival of lights, and not sound and smoke. Some were also confused about where they would find environmentally friendly fireworks. As usual, some used humour to deal with the verdict. Diwali is the festival of lights, not a festival of smoke and noise. Diye jalao, candles jalao, LED bulbs jalao aur mithai khao. Say no to #firecrackers — Non-technical Guruji (@BiskutKhao) October 23, 2018 Air is secular. Let's not look at it through the lens of religion. There is no threat to a religion. There is a very serious one to air; which we breathe every alternate second. #firecrackers — Ravinder Singh (@_RavinderSingh_) October 23, 2018 Wish we can make firecrackers which release oxygen and suck Carbon Dioxide from the atmosphere ! That would truly be a #HappyDiwali #firecrackers #Science — Vikram Sathaye (@vikramsathaye) October 23, 2018 The Supreme court said that bursting #Firecrackers is allowed only between 8 pm and 10 pm on religious festivals. But don't worry, after 10 pm you can always shout "Thain Thain" — Bollywood Gandu (@BollywoodGandu) October 23, 2018 How to comply with #SupremeCourt verdict .. Buy #Firecrackers .. Open them up .. Remove Barium salts, Extra Magnesium Isolate Aluminum, Copper .. Weigh them .. if found in excess, remove extra remove paper .. 2 ghanta iss me ho jayega Clean everything .. light a Diya-lamp 🤣🤣🤣 — Shuvankar Mukherjee (@shuvankr) October 23, 2018 #Diwali to the Hon'ble Supreme Court.😂#firecrackers pic.twitter.com/Zk35nG0seA — Ashish Mishra 🇮🇳 (@Ashish_Knowhere) October 23, 2018 Dear #firecrackers burners, Please get a plastic bag and cover yourself with firecrackers whenever you are Burning It, so that you can enjoy the smoke 100% by yourself. Universe does not want any percent of it. Excessive use of firecrackers and making it worse for living. — imu (@imrangehlot) October 23, 2018 Diwali is the festival of lights, a time for joy. 'Light' does not translate to noise and pollution. As the most polluted country in the world, we should welcome the restrictions on #firecrackers instead of being butthurt over them. I, for one, would have appreciated a total ban. — Kaustubh Chandra (@kauz_i_say_so) October 23, 2018 Only use , sound less and pollution less crackers.#firecrackers #Diwali2018 pic.twitter.com/huL3orPIDG — Iramsaifi💫 (@Iramsaifi10) October 23, 2018 Instead of capping time for #Diwali festival #firecrackers SC & Govt should cap population, Restrict easy car loans & ban polluting vehicle, Utilize more natural energy like wind water & solar. Plant more trees to control #Pollution. That will be actual solution to the problem. pic.twitter.com/Ri2OxlUCNl — Proud Indian 🇮🇳🐦™ (@onlyproudindian) October 23, 2018 How about a limit or the regulation on the decibel level of firecrackers. #firecrackers — Pushkar Ambekar (@pushkarambekar) October 23, 2018 Diverse tradition is the beauty of India. When SC regulate timing of the fire crackers forgets that there are certain festivals in in South India also . Vishu of Kerala where people burst crackers after seeing ''Kani' in the early morning. Now its like banned ! #firecrackers — venugopal (@venuvakeel) October 23, 2018 Dear Supreme Court, you gave the #SabarimalaVerdict a few days before the event and now this #firecrackers verdict just days before #Deepavali. Why do you do this? Why not do it well in advance so that everybody is prepared to address the consequences of your verdict? — V Kumara Swamy (@VKSwamy) October 23, 2018 How will this even work out? Who will be monitoring us 24/7 and making sure we don’t burst crackers at any time of the day we want to ?! #firecrackers — Nikhil Reddy #MovieManiac (@sainikhilreddy7) October 23, 2018 I was planning a low key Diwali this time but because SC wants to meddle into it, I am going to burst more crackers and outside mandated hours. #firecrackers — India Cricket (@IndCricFan) October 23, 2018 Share your thoughts about the verdict in the comments below.
