Tamil Nadu celebrates 'Bhogi' with bonfires leading to mild smog early Wednesday

Chennai: The 'Bhogi' festival celebrated ahead of the harvest fete 'Pongal' across Tamil Nadu with bonfires leading to mild smog briefly in some areas on Wednesday.

Flight operations in the domestic sector were unaffected as the presence of the fog and smog was mild and lasted only for a while, airport sources said.

Arrival of a few international flights from Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Colombo sectors, suffered a slight delay due to low visibility, they said.

In an advisory, the Chennai Airport under the weather and smog alert for Bhogi festival said, "Smog due to Bhogi festival activities and winter weather conditions may affect flight operations, causing delays, diversions or cancellations."

"Passengers are requested to check flight status in the Flight Information Display Systems. And keep in touch with respective airlines. We regret the inconvenience caused. Safety of passengers is our priority," it said.

However, residents in several urban neighbourhoods said the smell of bonfires was noticeably weaker than in previous years, suggesting that the practice of burning waste declines every year.

Celebrated on the eve of 'Pongal', the harvest festival in Tamil Nadu, those things that are not needed were discarded as part of the Bhogi celebrations.

Keeping with the tradition, people lit bonfires early on Wednesday morning and youngsters beat drums in front of their houses marking the arrival of the festival.

The celebrations signify hope and new beginning on the eve of Pongal and the start of Tamil month, 'Thai' on the day of the harvest festival.

The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board had appealed to the people not to burn tyres or items like plastic to protect the environment.

The Board observed that the people during 'Bhogi' burn discarded tyres, plastic goods, tubes, papers with chemical residues as they lead to produce dense black smoke disrupting flight operations in airports. It creates air pollution and health hazards to the public causing eye-irritation.

To prevent such unhealthy practices, awareness for 'environment friendly celebration of Bhogi' is being carried out by the Board for the last 21 years.

"TNPCB is taking steps to create awareness in all districts. Public are requested to celebrate Bhogi without burning plastics, tyres, tubes so as to protect the environment," the agency said.