All southern states can burst crackers anytime on Diwali for two hours, the Supreme Court said today. The SC modified its last week’s order which only allowed low emission firecrackers between 8 to 10 pm on Diwali and now the southern states can avail this two-hour window whenever they want to.

The top court had several petitions by the Tamil Nadu government and firecracker manufacturers. The Tamil Nadu government had urged the Supreme Court to allow the state to burst crackers on Diwali morning as per the state’s religious practice, besides the already given window of 8 to 10 pm.