Delhi Minister Ashish Sood urges responsible Diwali celebrations after Supreme Court order
The Supreme Court has permitted the use of green firecrackers in Delhi-NCR for two days during the festival.
Delhi Minister Ashish Sood on Monday welcomed a Supreme Court decision allowing green firecrackers in Delhi-NCR for two days during Diwali. According to ANI, the court has permitted the use of these crackers from November 4 to 6, with specific bursting timings of 6 am to 7 am and 8 pm to 10 pm on November 7 and 8.
Sood requested citizens to celebrate the festival responsibly to protect the environment. He stated that the government aims to allow festivals and programmes to continue normally while ensuring environmental protection.
AAP chief Saurabh Bharadwaj questioned the timing of the Supreme Court's order, asking why it was issued at the last minute. He raised concerns regarding whether manufacturers had prior knowledge of the permission to produce large quantities of green crackers.
Bharadwaj also questioned if regular crackers would be labelled as green crackers for sale. He alleged that in the past, police had accepted bribes to allow regular firecrackers to be sold as green crackers.
The AAP leader further alleged that the Centre and the Delhi government were involved in irregularities, claiming air quality index (AQI) monitoring stations were shut down overnight. He described the situation as mismanagement.