Firecrackers: Curbs go up in smoke

No restrictions ordered by the Supreme Court and advisories and recommendations made by the authorities on the use of firecrackers worked anywhere in the country, and in most places, the festival was as noisy and polluting as at any time in the past. The court had banned polluting crackers and allowed the use of low-emission, green-certified crackers free of harmful chemicals in cities where the air quality met the laid down criteria. There were time restrictions also. The orders were hardly followed. In Delhi where the air quality was already categorised as “poor to very poor”, it deteriorated further. There was a huge black market in firecrackers in the city and about 13,000 kg of illegal crackers were seized. In some cities, crackers were sold under false green labels. They also carried fake QR codes, and most failed noise level tests. Even green crackers are not completely safe, and they reduce pollution only to some extent.

A communal angle was also added to the situation with some Hindutva groups describing restrictions as discriminatory and an attack on Hindu religious practices. It was claimed that Hindu festivals were being targeted and social media was agog with criticism. It was said that Hindus were not being allowed to freely celebrate their festivals. Those who called for avoiding crackers were abused online. This was after some BJP-ruled governments had banned the use of firecrackers in some places. The Supreme Court said that its restrictions were not directed against any particular community and that its orders were in the larger public interest. It also said that the matter involved the right to life of citizens. It is unfortunate that religious sentiments are wrongly invoked in matters concerning the health of people.

Diwali has aggravated a situation that was even otherwise bad. The air in Delhi will only get worse in the coming weeks with the winter setting in and pollutants from the burning of farm stubble in Haryana and Punjab sweeping the air in the coming weeks. There is no dearth of warnings about the worsening air quality in India, especially its cities. India has the highest death rate from acute respiratory diseases and asthma. According to a 2019 survey, out of 30 cities of the world with the worst levels of air pollution, 21 are in India. Among all sections of people, children are at grave risk from air pollution. The World Health Organisation (WHO) recently updated its 2005 global air quality standards, but India does not meet even its existing standards. There is a need for more serious and urgent action on air pollution as it is a silent killer and is at the root of climate change.