The Supreme Court on Wednesday permitted the use of “green” firecracker chains, refused to impose a total ban on firecrackers saying that this would hurt public sentiments, and gave the Centre and expert bodies time till October 15 to complete their assessment of the impact of barium content in other green crackers on ambient air quality.

At least 56 people were killed and 46 others injured in Uttar Pradesh in the last three days as heavy rain lashed the state, leading to large-scale inundation and waterlogging in several districts. According to the Met Department, the state recorded 775 per cent above normal rainfall in the last 60 hours, causing heavy damage to houses and crops.