Crackers burst extensively in condos as well as villages, shows data

Areas around Teri Gram, sectors 67, 32, 30, and 44 witnessed the highest surge in pollution levels after Diwali, an analysis of the 24-hour average air quality data

Areas around Teri Gram, sectors 67, 32, 30, and 44 witnessed the highest surge in pollution levels after Diwali, an analysis of the 24-hour average air quality data obtained from the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram’s air lab shows.

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The air lab measures 24-hour average AQI data from 3pm to 3pm the following day.

Until Saturday afternoon on Diwali, the average air quality index (AQI) of the monitor at Teri Gram was 169 (‘moderate’). However, this deteriorated to 405 (‘severe’) the following day, the worst in the city. Similarly, in Sector 67, the average AQI on Saturday was 159, which jumped to 360 on Sunday.

Although the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had last week imposed a blanket ban on firecrackers across the National Capital Region (NCR) till November 30, residents living near the two air quality monitors said that cracker bursting went unchecked.

“Despite areas around Teri Gram being lush green due to the Aravallis, there is a cluster of five villages located in close proximity. Throughout Diwali night, firecrackers were continuously burst in these five villages, completely unchecked. When residents woke up on Sunday morning, there was a thick cloud of black smoke all around. Only after heavy winds and a slight drizzle in the afternoon did the situation improve and the air became breathable,” said Vaishali Rana Chandra, an environmentalist who resides in a condominium in Gwal Pahari, next to Teri Gram.

Karam Singh, a resident of Gwal Pahari village, said, “Although there was a general awareness among villagers about the NGT order, there was continuous bursting of firecrackers throughout the night. I had to visit family members in nearby villages due to an emergency and the situation was the same there too. There was no presence of police or government official to control the situation.”

Aditya Singh, joint secretary of Tulip Violet in Sector 69, said that bursting of firecrackers could be heard at regular intervals from nearby areas from 7 pm-10pm on Saturday. “Bursting of firecrackers could be heard from residential areas and villages nearby, especially during a three-hour period on Diwali evening, where the occurrence took place in regular intervals. Bursting of firecrackers continued even later in the night but these were sporadic. We suspect the bursting of firecrackers could be the main cause for the sudden surge in AQI,” said Singh.

To check the directions of NGT, around 1,600 police personnel were deployed to check sales as well as use of firecrackers. In total, 104 people were penalised for these violations while around 350 were let off with a warning on Diwali, as they claimed to be unaware of the NGT order.

“Around 40 special teams, including crime branch officials, kept a check on firecracker violations. Leading up to Diwali, the teams also initiated various awareness drives in residential areas to inform people about the NGT order. Overall, we were able to keep a strong vigil on Diwali and will continue to do so, whenever such future directions are received,” said KK Rao, commissioner, Gurugram Police.

Rao said that firecrackers were also extensively burst inside townships, gated societies and condominiums, prompting police intervention.

Dhruv Bansal, the official spokesperson for Gurgaon Citizens Council, an umbrella body of residents’ welfare associations (RWAs) said, “Bursting of firecrackers was common throughout the city, even in highly urbanised areas, where the awareness of the NGT order was largely prevalent. Instances of bursting of firecrackers were also found in the townships of DLF Phases 1 and 2, which resulted in the local RWA taking up the matter with the residents concerned and cautioning them that a repeat of the violations could lead to a police complaint.”

MCG officials said that they will be sharing the pollution data with the departments concerned for future preparedness. “The rationale behind opening the air lab was to monitor varying AQI across the city on highly polluted days, such as Diwali. The data garnered over the two days is extremely important as the same would be shared across various departments in the city to accordingly analyse and create future preparations and combating plans for Diwali next year,” said Chahat Sanghvi, consultant to the MCG commissioner, who is also supervising the MCG’s air lab.