Virudhungar: Experiments in association with apex environmental research body CSIR-NEERI to manufacture green crackers are underway and their success will lead to revival of the fireworks industry here, hit by the ban, Tamilnadu Minister Rajendira Balaji said on Thursday.
Noting that experiments in this regard were successful, he expressed confidence the fireworks industry will resume operations in a big way and see a new dawn if the quantum of barium nitrate used in making crackers was reduced. He was speaking at a review meeting regarding producing less polluting fireworks based on the experiments.
The centre had agreed to the request of the Tamilnadu government and had directed Nagpur-based Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) to take up research on green crackers, he said. Experiments on green crackers were underway at several places, including at a private college here, the Minister said.
“This will light up the future of the cracker unit workers. if the use of barium nitrate is reduced in manufacturing the crackers green crackers could be made. “This will result in cracker units resuming work. The news about green crackers has already reached the workers and they are happy about it,” Balaji said.
After the testing of the new crackers to be made based on the experiments,the cracker units could get proper licence and make crackers. As per the experiments, the green crackers could be made by using substitution chemical for barium nitrate to the tune of 20 per cent and this information would be conveyed to the Supreme Court so that its ban on fireworks can be lifted, he said.
The apex court had last year said people in the country can burst firecrackers only from 8 pm to 10 pm on Diwali and other festivals, and had allowed the manufacture and sale of only ‘green crackers’ which have low emission of light, sound and less harmful chemicals.