Swadeshi Jagran Manch, an RSS affiliate, has urged the state governments not to impose a blanket ban on the sale of firecrackers on the occasion of Diwali. Ashwani Mahajan, national co-convener of SJM, said that governments have been taking action like banning all types of firecrackers ahead of Diwali without any "factual information".
He said that governments should understand that pollution caused by firecrackers was primarily due to illegally imported firecrackers from China.
READ MORE: Delhi govt bans firecrackers ahead of Diwali
"There has been pollution due to the mixing of potassium nitrate and sulfur in Chinese firecrackers. However, in green firecrackers that are made in India today, potassium nitrate and sulfur are not mixed, and other pollutants such as aluminum, lithium, arsenic and mercury etc. have been reduced," he said. Mahajan added that these firecrackers are certified by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research and "cause a minimum of 30 per cent less pollution".
"Since the Indian government has imposed an effective ban on Chinese firecrackers, it is completely unfair to impose a blanket ban on all types of firecrackers on Diwali," he said.
READ MORE: Thick blanket of smog shrouds Delhi, lowers visibility
Mahajan argued that the livelihoods of nearly one million people depend on the firecracker industry. Banning firecrackers will affect them, he said.
"These people wait for Diwali to sell their firecrackers. In such a situation, it is not prudent to ban green firecrackers which are less polluting without any scientific basis," he said.
The SJM chief also sought the Modi government's intervention and urged it to inform the National Green Tribunal about the real pollution effects of green firecrackers.
Several northern states and cities have banned the sale of firecrackers ahead of Diwali to check air quality. The list includes Karnataka, West Bengal, Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Chandigarh, and Mumbai among others.
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