New Delhi, Oct 18 (UNI) The Capital is set for a green Deepavali. Delhiites, for whom bursting loud fire crackers has been an indispensable part of Deepavali celebrations for centuries, have this time opted for less noisy and pollution-free festivities, in the wake of the Supreme Court ban on sparklers. There is a greater interest this year in the creation of fascinating Rangolis, lighting up houses with traditional Diyas and colourful candles. People are heading to local markets and shops to find solace in alternate ways for celebration, by buying new clothes, accessories, decorative material and tasting variety of sweets. Thanks to the apex court judgement, the five-day Festival of Lights-Deepavali-which is known for Sensex hikes and sets cash registers ringing for shopkeepers- has become green this year, Accordingly, the traders and different shop owners have done special preparations for the festival. While shops have given huge discounts on special mithais (sweets) prepared for the occasion, dealers in saris and kurtas and other traditional apparels , have put up makeshift stalls outside their showrooms, offering their best garments on lower rates. Attractive lighting, combined with colourful decorations and attractive wall hangings, have lent a bridal look to the markets, where traders were trying their best to woo customers, who had become elusive due to various reasons, including the implementation of Goods and Services Tax and demonetisation decision. Firecracker traders said they were not given enough time to stop making and creating stock of the commodity. 'The verdict came as a sudden shock to us. Had the judgement been six months or even three months earlier, we would not have ordered the raw material and refrained from making fire crackers. The Rs 1,000 crore-strong industry cannot shut down overnight,' said a businessman from Tamil Nadu's Sivakasi town, which is synonymous with sparklers. Around five lakh workers depend directly on the fire cracker industry to eke out a living, said P Balasubramaniam, General Secretary of Virudhunagar District Cracker and Match Workers' Union. G Vinayakamoorthy, of Meenampatti Fireworks Manufacturers Association, added, 'Delhi alone comprises around 20 per cent of our sales. The politicians and government officials are our biggest bulk buyers.' If Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and other states, he added, also imposed a similar ban, the industry would see a 50 per cent drop in sales. Despite a slump in the economy and fire cracker ban, high-spirited Delhiites came out in huge numbers, creating traffic snarls at various places in the national Capital. Gridlocks were reported at Laxmi Nagar and Ghazipur flower market of east Delhi, a traffic official said. He added that traffic movement from Kalindi Kunj to Noida has been stopped, while vehicles were moving at a snail's pace on Haryana Bhawan to Africa Avenue route, which had been converted to one way, to ease congestion. UNI RJ RP1843