The Collector has banned some varieties of firecrackers and placed restrictions on when bursting of crackers is permissible.
The order by Collector T. Arun stated that on the basis of the Supreme Court judgement on degradation of air and aggravation of health conditions from indiscriminate use of firecrackers, the manufacture, sale and use of joined firecrackers (series crackers or laris) is hereby banned. The sale shall only be through licensed traders.
During Deepavali festival, bursting of firecrackers should strictly be from 6 a.m. to 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. in respect of Puducherry, Mahe and Yanam regions on Saturday.
The use of compounds of antimony, lithium, mercury, arsenic and lead in the manufacture of fireworks is prohibited. In addition, the use of strontium chromate in the manufacture of fireworks is also not permitted.
The concerned authorities, particularly the police, shall ensure that fireworks are lit only during the designated time as mentioned above.
They shall also ensure that there is no sale of banned firecrackers, the Collector said.
No e-commerce websites, including Flipkart, Amazon, etc., shall accept any online orders and effect online sales. Any such e-commerce companies found selling crackers online will be hauled up for contempt of court. Barium salts in the fireworks is also hereby banned.
Fireworks with permitted chemicals only can be purchased/possessed/sold/used during Deepavali and all other religious festivals, of any religion whatsoever, and other occasions like marriages, etc. The licenses of manufacturers of such banned fireworks items would be suspended, the order said.
Only those crackers whose decibel (sound) level are within the limits are allowed in the market and the licenses of manufacturers on account of such violations will be suspended. The concerned police authorities and the sub-district magistrates will ensure that fireworks are not burst in silence zones that is, an area at least 100 metres away from hospitals, nursing homes, primary and district health care centres, educational institutions, courts, religious places or any other area that may be declared as a silence zone by the concerned authorities, the Collector stated.