00:00Well, and this year the Supreme Court has made it clear that trackers that to green only can be burnt
00:07for only two days during Diwali and that too at specific hours.
00:10We explained in detail what the top court over the years have said.
00:14There has been a, you know, ban crackers, don't ban crackers, bring green crackers, okay, don't bring green crackers.
00:22There has been a lot of back and forth.
00:23So, but today, let us in detail talk about what's actually the difference between the crackers that are green and
00:30the ones that you and I grew up with.
00:33In Delhi NCR, the regular crackers isn't, you know, another legal option.
00:38The court has said it again that anything with barium or, you know, without Neri's approval cannot be used.
00:45So, this Diwali, the choice in front of you is to buy a certified green cracker or an illegal one.
00:54So, what exactly is the difference and how do you even know when you go out to buy your crackers,
00:59if you are going out to buy your crackers at all?
01:01Now, it is still a cracker, it burns, it bangs and it throws particulate matter into the air.
01:08Green means less polluting.
01:10It does not mean pollution free.
01:13Think of it as a regular cracker with a changed recipe.
01:18So, CSIR and Neri, a government lab in Nagpur, worked on it after the Supreme Court's 2018 order.
01:26The barium comes out, that's the chemical that makes the cracker burn fiercely and flash the green coloured light.
01:32The additives go into hold down the dust and some release a little water to settle it.
01:39Now, the noise also drops at around 1600 decibels for, you know, the regular crackers which are about 110, 125
01:46for green ones.
01:48Still, very loud but partially less.
01:51And on the box, what is it that you have to check?
01:54A CSIR, Neri logo and a QR code you can scan.
01:58The promise at the moment being made is 30% less particulate pollution or 20% if harmful gases also
02:07drop by 10.
02:09Now, that number comes from controlled testing, not from Delhi streets on Delhi night.
02:15And here's the problem, that 30% is per cracker.
02:20And if you're doing the math, even at the full 30%, 10 green crackers pollute about as much as 7
02:28regular ones.
02:30So, do the math, burst about 15 green crackers and the saving is gone.
02:35Now, think about Diwali in Delhi.
02:37Nobody is bursting 15.
02:38The street after street, building after building, all going off through the night.
02:44The court's window closes at 10.
02:46Last year, crackers went on past midnight in several parts.
02:50There was a massive, blatant violation.
02:53Nobody did anything.
02:56Last year, with green crackers allowed, one analysis put PM 2.5 after Delhi at 488.
03:03More than three times the level before it.
03:06Now, weather played its part as well and nobody can tell how many of those crackers were actually truly green.
03:13And that's the next problem.
03:15Neri has reported QR codes being sold to unregistered manufacturers as well.
03:22That is, in the Supreme Court's own order.
03:27Last week, the amicus curiae told the court that regular crackers are being sold with the green label.
03:32With the QR codes missing, dead or fake, we do not know.
03:38Manufacturers say that the answer is tighter regulation, because bans only push people to illegal Chinese products.
03:45And even a genuine green cracker, like I just explained, isn't really harmless.
03:52A Delhi Technological University in IIT Roorkee study of Delhi, of the Diwali in Delhi in 2019, found very high
03:59levels of ultrafine particles from green crackers also.
04:04So sample that.
04:06One campus, one Diwali.
04:07But those are, you know, particles that can go deep into your lungs.
04:12So watch what happens on the November of 7th and 8th.
04:16Who checks the box at the shop?
04:18Who is on the street at 10.01 at night?
04:22Last year, cold caught this a test.
04:25It still hasn't got a complete report on the result.
04:29The next test really starts in five days.
04:32It's up to us.
04:34Yes, nobody wants to dampen the spirit of Diwali, but we've got to be careful in not dampening our own
04:42health.
