Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Thursday urged the Odisha and Rajasthan governments to reconsider their decision to ban the sale and burst of firecrackers this Diwali season to protect the livelihoods of the people of Tamil Nadu involved in the manufacture of firecrackers.
In his letter to Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, he has mentioned reports that these states had banned the sale of firecrackers and bursting of firecrackers due to COVID-19.
Mr. Palaniswami said- “I would like to bring you to notice that Tamil Nadu mainly produces green crackers; Therefore, there is no question of environmental pollution. There is no valid data to show that bursting crackers affect COVID-19 patients. Therefore, I request you to reconsider the government's decision to ban the sale of firecrackers and bursting of firecrackers in your state during this Diwali season, ”.
He said Tamil Nadu is a major firecracker manufacturing state, using raw materials with low emission levels and low decibels, the state produces about 90% of the total production of firecrackers in the country, providing direct employment to about four lakh people. And up to four lakh people have received indirect employment.
He said “Their livelihood depends only on the sale of firecrackers during the Diwali season. The ban on the bursting of firecrackers in your state can have a direct impact on the livelihood of over 8 lakh workers in Tamil Nadu and the same number of people engaged in firecracker sales. He also referred to the Supreme Court's judgment of 23 October 2018 directing all states to encourage firecrackers in public places for a limited period of two hours on Diwali.
As directed by the Supreme Court, Environment Minister KC Karuppannan in Bhavani said that people in the state would be allowed to burst firecrackers during Diwali from 6 am to 7 pm and 7 pm to 4 pm.
Talking to the media after distributing crop loans to farmers, he said that the state had set a time of two hours in the morning and evening to burst firecrackers on Deepawali, and this will be followed this year. He asked the people to ensure smoke-free Deepawali and said that any decision on banning Chinese firecrackers will be taken by the Chief Minister.