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Delhi govt kick-starts anti-cracker campaign
New Delhi:
New Delhi:
Environment minister Gopal Rai on Tuesday kick-started the Delhi government’s anti-cracker campaign, urging people to avoid fireworks on Diwali, or to at least to ensure they buy only the ‘green’, low-emission varieties, in an attempt to cut down on air pollution, which is a greater concern this year owing to the Covid-19 crisis.
As part of the campaign, which started on Tuesday, Rai visited Sadar Bazar, one of Delhi’s biggest wholesale firecracker markets, for an inspection and to ensure only green crackers are sold.
Diwali this year will be celebrated on November 14. Every year, pollution levels in the city see a major spike after the festival as people openly burst polluting firecrackers.
Under this campaign, 11 teams of the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) have been directed to ensure no traditional, polluting crackers are used or sold across Delhi.
Apart from these teams, Delhi Police personnel and sub-divisional magistrates of all the districts will regularly inspect markets to ensure old stocks of traditional varieties are not sold clandestinely.
“According to directions of the Supreme Court, polluting crackers have been banned in Delhi and only pollution-free green crackers have been allowed this year. The teams will ensure only the less-polluting varieties of crackers are sold. I would also like to request Delhiites to avoid bursting crackers, as much as possible,” said Rai.
Rai said, “For the implementation of the campaign, we are ensuring two things -- first, the firecrackers must have a ‘green cracker’ logo on them. Second, the crackers sold in shops must be from authorised companies. We are following Supreme Court guidelines. The Delhi government will follow any new directions to curb pollution as and when issued.”
Narendra Gupta, president of the fireworks and general traders association, Sadar Bazar, said traders assured the government that they will comply with its directions and sell only the green varieties.
In 2017, ahead of Diwali, the Supreme Court had put a temporary ban on the sale and purchase of firecrackers in Delhi-NCR. In the last two years, however, the court had ordered that only low-emission and improved fireworks could be sold in Delhi, owing to concerns over rising air pollution.
Residents were allowed to burst only green crackers between 8pm and 10pm.
These green crackers are said to have 30% lower emission as compared to traditional fireworks. The noise levels are lower -- 125 decibels against 160 decibels in traditional ones.
Surendra Kumar, a trader in Jama Masjid area, said even though more green crackers are available this year, the number of traders selling these is much less compared to previous years. “If shops selling the less polluting varieties are fewer, then there is possibility of unauthorised dealers selling old stock. Business has taken a hit over the last two-three years because of lack of clarity on rules till this year,” Kumar said.
He said since the new varieties are more expensive, many people prefer to get old ones from NCR towns such as Ghaziabad, Faridabad and Noida. “What’s the use of such a restriction in Delhi, when you can get old crackers across the border,” he said.
Parvati Kandasamy, president of the joint resident welfare association (RWA) in west Patel Nagar, said they have been sensitising residents to avoid cracker bursting this year.
“Through our WhatsApp groups and through social media pages, we are getting people to join our cracker-free Diwali campaign. With Covid-19 cases increasing, it is imperative we do not add anything to worsen the condition of vulnerable people,” said Kandasamy.
Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director (research and advocacy), Centre for Science and Environment, said the focus should be to save the city from the annual air emergency that hits Delhi right after Diwali.
“Even last year, we saw that we were doing reasonably well in maintaining the pollution levels from falling into the dangerous levels, but with Diwali, we were back facing the severe category,” said Roychowdhury.
