A Pollution Control Board Assam (PCBA) directive states that noise-emitting firecrackers will be completely prohibited in Assam between the hours of 10:00 PM and 6:00 AM during Diwali.
The PCBA is acting in accordance with a 2005 Supreme Court ruling regarding the explosion of sound-emitting firecrackers. Higher decibel noise-emitting firecrackers are restricted by the PCBA.
A directive from the PCBA dated October 11, 2022, reads, “The manufacture, sale or use of firecrackers which generates noise level exceeding 125 dB or 145 dB at 4 metres distance from the point of bursting shall be prohibited.”
To prevent the usage of firecrackers with higher decibel levels, PCBA personnel will investigate the commercial firecracker market and monitor it.
The directive further specifies that the PCBA would assess Assam’s air quality and noise levels prior to Diwali on October 18 and on October 24, the day of Diwali.
Additionally, from October 17, 2022 to October 31, 2022, or before and after Diwali, the ambient air quality of Guwahati will be tested daily for a period of fifteen days.
