The Punjab government on Wednesday said a window of two hours will be given for bursting firecrackers on Diwali on October 24.
Only green crackers would be allowed in compliance with the National Green Tribunal (NGT) directives as well as various judicial orders passed amid reports of firecrackers likely to aggravate the covid and other breathing problems.
The crackers will be permitted from 4 am to 5 am and from 9 pm to 10 pm on ‘Gurpurab’.
Besides, bursting of crackers will also be allowed for 35 minutes each on Christmas and New Year’s eve from 11.55pm to 12.30am, he said.
With Delhi banning the sale of firecrackers ahead of Diwali, wholesalers in Punjab are being offered heavy discounts by their Delhi counterparts.
Unlike traditional crackers, green crackers do not contain harmful chemicals such as aluminum, barium, potassium nitrate or carbon. Some reports say that green crackers are 30% less polluting than the traditional variety.