Around 1,100 concerned citizens in Odisha have pledged online to say no to firecrackers and celebrate an eco-friendly Diwali.

People are allowed to burst only green crackers till 10pm on Diwali on Sunday. Firecrackers creating noise more than 125 decibels have been banned. However, a study revealed that a large number of people did not know what green crackers were.

The online pledge was part of an effort to promote a more eco-friendly and healthier way to celebrate Diwali and abide by the Supreme Court’s directives against the use of conventional firecrackers and to allow only green crackers with reduced emission and decibel levels.

The public awareness campaign titled “Smoke Free Diwali” was conducted last week by SwitchON Foundation, a Calcutta-based non-for-profit entity, in collaboration with the Odisha State Pollution Control Board and the Centre for Environmental Studies under the state forest and environment department.

Although people were asked to celebrate green Diwali, 47 per cent of the residents in Bhubaneswar were unable to recognise green crackers. As many as 54 per cent of the surveyed individuals expressed uncertainty about purchasing green crackers. “This uncertainty stemmed from either an inability to recognise green crackers, accounting for 47 per cent, or a flawed understanding of identification methods, comprising 7 per cent,” said the survey.

The survey was conducted by SwitchON Foundation on November 7 and 8 among 111 people comprising 94 men and seven women.

As part of a public awareness campaign, several schools, colleges and organisations came together to take part in various activities to celebrate an eco-friendly Diwali. Schools and colleges from Bhubaneswar, Puri, Cuttack, Angul, Anandpur, Rourkela, Bhawanipatna, Daspalla, Kendrapara, Keonjhar, Nayagarh, Rayagada, Sonepur, Baligaon and many other cities enthusiastically participated in the smoke-free Diwali campaign.

Member secretary of the Odisha State Pollution Control Board, Dr K. Murugesan, said: “We are glad to collaborate with SwitchON Foundation for smoke-free Diwali, illuminating the spirit of joy without compromising the air we breathe.”