Plea in NGT to ban use of crackers during Puri temple rituals

Cuttack: National Green Tribunal on Friday registered a petition seeking its intervention to ban the use of firecrackers during Lord Jagannath’s rituals in Puri.
The petition sought a directive seeking a report from the chief administrator of Shree Jagannath Temple Administration on the steps taken to prohibit the use of crackers during the rituals of Lord Jagannath. It also requested directions to the director general of police and chief secretary to submit records of action taken to enforce the Supreme Court’s directive issued in 2021.
Sanjay Kumar Nayak, a 46-year-old environmental activist from Aska, filed the petition before NGT’s east zone bench in Kolkata through advocate Sankar Prasad Pani. The petition cited a major accident during the Chandan Yatra in Puri on May 29, which allegedly occurred due to explosion of illegal and banned firecrackers, killing 15 people and critically injuring 22 others.
It further alleged the manufacturing of hazardous and harmful banned firecrackers under the guise of green crackers in the state. Apart from Diwali, there is widespread use of firecrackers on every occasion, from Christmas to ‘zero night’ and New Year’s Eve, and from marriage processions to immersion processions, among others.
The petition said a National Clean Action Plan (NCAP) was made operational in 2018 to counter growing air pollution. Under the plan, all cities must meet National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). Those that do not meet these standards are termed ‘non-attainment’ cities.