Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Tuesday announced a two-hour window for the use of green crackers on Diwali and Gurpurab, with a curb for Christmas too across the state, except in Mandi Gobindgarh, where a total ban has been imposed till November 30 on account of its poor AQI levels.

Only green crackers will be allowed as per these orders, which are in compliance with the directives of the National Green Tribunal (NGT), as well as various judicial orders passed amid reports of firecrackers likely to aggravate the Covid problem.

While on Diwali day (November 14), green crackers can be burst from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m., on Gurpurab (November 30), they will be allowed from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. and from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m.

On Christmas Eve, people can burst these crackers from 11.55 p.m. till 12.30 a.m.

Chairing a virtual Covid review meeting, the Chief Minister directed the Department of Science, Technology and Environment to issue the necessary notification in this regard.

Warning against any violation of these curbs, he asked Director General of Police (DGP) Dinkar Gupta to crackdown heavily to ensure penal action as per the law.