Every Diwali, environmentalists and NGOs urge people to go green. SHAlINI SAKSENA explores how one can be environment friendly during this festival and yet keep the spirit & traditions alive

According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), last Diwali the particulate matter stood at 600 micrograms per cubic metre, around six times the prescribed limit for PM10 and 80 times for PM2.5. It also noted that the noise pollution levels at three of the six monitoring stations rose in areas like  Pitampura, Kamla Nagar and Jangpura, ranging from 74 to 86 decibels against a standard of 55 dB(A). As per CPCB standards, in residential areas, 55 decibels (dB) during daytime and 45dB during night time is the safe limit.

The PM10 and PM2.5 levels started increasing steadily from November 5, 2015 a week before Diwali — PM10 rose from 166 to 593 micrograms per cubic metre in East Arjun Nagar. In Janakpuri, the levels went up from 119 to 554 micrograms per cubic metre. PM2.5 levels went up from 96 to 474 micrograms per cubic metre, and from 84 to 459 micrograms per cubic metre, respectively, in the same areas during this period. The reason for the spike in particulate matter stems from the smoke of fireworks consists mainly of fine toxic dusts and chemicals that are used in manufacturing the crackers.

It is not surprising thus, that environmentalists and NGOs promoting green Diwali seek a ban on the firecrackers altogether. NGOs hold street plays, workshops and visit schools telling them not to burst crackers.

“The most important thing to keep in mind during Diwali is not to kill the spirit of the festival. When we visit schools, we tell the children about the harmful effects of bursting crackers not only to the environment but also to their health. We teach them how to go green. Children will be children. You really can’t prevent them from bursting crackers but everything has to be done in moderation keeping in mind the safety guidelines — always have an adult present, keep a bucket of water, ensure there is no inflammable stuff lying around, burst crackers in the open and if two-three families can come together and burst crackers in one area the better it is,” Pramod Sharma, director of Yuvsatta, a Chandigarh-based NGO, tells you.

Sharma has spent the last two decades in spreading the message of green Diwali rather than being preachy. The focus is on celebrating the festival in a eco-friendly manner and if this entails not bursting of crackers, it is good for the environment. He tells you that children are more open to alternatives than adults who are prone to follow the traditional way of celebrating the Festival of lights.

“There are very few people who want to keep away from patakhas. When we visit schools, we have three things to say: Burst smaller crackers in moderation, follow safety measures and burst them in the open. The good part is that there has been some improvement in the quality of air in Chandigarh. There has been no spike in the particulate matter in the last three years around Diwali. This means that people are getting aware of the dangers of bursting crackers on health and to the environment. The fact that it is now restricted to one day also is a positive sign,” Sharma tells you.

But the firecracker industry is not too happy with the fact that environmentalists and NGOs keep promoting green Diwali. Gopalakrishnan, sales manager of Standard Fire Works (P) ltd in Sivakasi tells you that each year his job to increase sales of firecrackers gets tougher since people are looking for alternative means to celebrate the festival.

“I only want to tell them one thing. While there is no such thing as ‘eco-friendly crackers’, all the crackers that my company makes uses green technology. This means that we don’t use any machinery that needs to run on electricity, we don’t have a power connection because a spark in a firecracker manufacturing unit poses danger to the workers and nearby areas. All crackers are made manually and no child labour is involved. No harmful chemicals are released during the manufacturing nor are any hazardous products are released into the ground, air or water,” Gopala says.

His company, he says, has also been using recycled paper to make the crackers and ensures that no harmful and banned chemicals are used to manufacture the crackers. So in that sense companies like Standard Fire Works, Sony Fire Works and Muthu Fire Works are green and making called ‘eco-friendly’ crackers. They also strictly follow the guidelines that have been laid down by the law which at present says 125 decibels at four metres from the point of bursting. The procedure laid down by the Petroleum And Explosives Safety Organisation are also followed and these are updating from time to time keeping in mind changing times and Government regulations.

He tells you that the problem is that experts just want to play spoilsport on this one day when all that one should do is have lot of fun and  celebrate with bursting lot of crackers. “It is tradition,” Gopala says.

“We forget the rest of the days in the year where pollution is being caused by vehicles, food manufacturing units, cloth manufacturing units and every other industry that is causing pollution — land, air and water. The firecracker industry is the only one which doesn’t cause any such pollution,” Gopala tells you.

But Arun Krishnamurthy of the Environmentalist Foundation of India says that it is not just one day. It is about multiple days of being subjected to slow poison. “Is this what we want for ourselvesIJ Considering that there is a spike in the air pollution, which is almost five to six times the usual norm means that there is need to look at celebrating the festival with an alternative which strikes a balance between the traditional way of celebrating and keeping in mind that we do as less damage as we can to the environment,” Krishnamurthy opines.

For the environmentalists it is all about separating religion from environment. Just because they advise not to burst crackers doesn’t make them anti-religion, they tell you. All that they are concerned about is the quality of air and noise pollution during this time since it leads to some serious health problems to the elderly and children in particular.

“At present, the situation is half full, half empty glass. People, today, have forgotten the real essence of why we celebrate Diwali. We have become materialistic. Going green during this time is more of an urban culture rather than rural,” Krishnamurthy says.

For him there are several ways in which one can celebrate Diwali today. Spending time with the family, eat healthy food, share knowledge, travel with family, etc are some modern ways which can go a long way in promoting the spirit of the festival.

“It is the parents who are more interested in celebrating the festival in a greener manner rather than children. Environment consciousness is restricted to metros and even here it is Delhi which is more conscious due to the odd-even formula that was introduced. The awareness that we are ruining the air and slowly poisoning our bodies is not likely to increase in the next five to 10 years and this means that we are doing a lot of damage to the air and ourselves,” Krishnamurthy tells you.

For those who feel that one day is not going to make any difference considering that there is air pollution being caused by vehicles etc, Krishnamurthy says that experts have been asking for improving public transport so that people ditch their cars and in the process improving the quality of air we are breathing.

“The reason why there is so much debate on banning of crackers is because we have lost the essence of what good quality of life should be. We have become shells and there is need to change the overall perspective even if it sounds philosophical. The inhuman conditions under which the workers in the cracker industry work should be good enough reason to ban the production. No human being should be made to work under such circumstances in modern-times,” Krishnamurthy tells you.

Ravi Agarwal, founder-director of Toxic links agrees with Krishnamurthy when it comes to choosing alternative ways of celebrating this festival. There are ways in which one can celebrate ‘eco-friendly Diwali’.

“People are smart and are aware of the different ways in which they can celebrate eco-friendly Diwali. There are so many alternatives available. First, for those who want to decorate their homes with lights, there are several options in the market like low consuming energy lED lights, there are lED diyas as well. Of course, the traditional way to decorate the home with candles and oil diyas is always there. Second, when it comes to crackers, there is need to do things in moderation. All this will contribute to less air pollution and less noise and reducing the carbon foot printing. We have lost the spirit of Diwali. This has been taken over by secondary things like bursting crackers and things that we do like gifting. People are going over the top, it has become a facade. There is no need to be so destructive towards the environment,” Agarwal says.

He does agree that since Diwali is a festival lights, one is supposed to use lights since Goddess lakshmi comes where there is light and that is very much the essence of the festival. But there is no need to light it up like Rashtrapati Bhawan and use neon lights. It is a Festival of lights, not a competition of lights. Diwali was all about offering prayer to Goddess lakshmi, meeting family, having fun, have a meal together, share gifts with each other and do some patakhas. Though all this has not been lost, it is just that other things have taken over. There are people who have retained the essence of the festival don’t know how to go about it. So a re-balancing of this will go a long way to being eco-friendly,” Agarwal tells you adding that there is no need to be so commercial this includes the crackers as well.

“There was a time when the crackers were not so loud as they are today. The crackers industry is also bogged down with problems, Child labour is a serious problem. Then there are Chinese crackers. You have crackers that don’t stick to the decibel norms and are four-five times the prescribed norm. I am not the kind to kill the whole thing related to crackers but it should be done in moderation. One can buy eco-friendly patakhas that are made by using recycled paper, give out less smoke and are not so loud. These are small gestures that will go a long way,” Agarwal tells you.

So it boils down to what individual can do to retain the spirit of the festival and contribute to the environment. While people may argue that it is just one day, we have to see how we want to begin the New Year. Do we want to start the year on a new thought or do we want to continue doing what we have done thus farIJ

Then there are many firecracker units in Sivakasi like liberty Crackers who cash in on the fact that men are looking for crackers that make the loudest sound.

“I would love to make crackers that are less polluting but there has to be a demand for the same. Sivakasi contributes 90 per cent of the total firecracker demand in the country, of this nearly 75 per cent is consumed by north India and there is 80 per cent demand for crackers that make a loud noise. We are here to do business and make money at the end of the day. As long as the demand is there, we will cater to it,” Dhananjay, the owner explains.

The demand for eco-friendly crackers, he tells you can be gauged from the fact that there are 800 firecracker manufacturing units in Sivakasi and 400 company. Out of this only 10 or 15 companies are using green technology to manufacture crackers.

“If the demand for such crackers was higher, we too would be manufacturing eco-friendly crackers. But at present, it is not worth the effort and the investment,” Dhananjay says.

But dealers like Shaba Ali of Hindustan Firewroks in Varanasi tell you that in the last two-three years there has been an increase in the demand for ‘eco-friendly crackers’ — crackers that release less or no smoke and are not so loud yet have the sparkle. “There are a few crackers when you burn them they turn into a flower. These are very popular here in Uttar Pradesh,” Ali says.

He tells you that the sale for such crackers have seen a steady rise. From 80 per cent demand for crackers that are loud the figure is down to 60 per cent. “There is 40 per cent demand for crackers that don’t pollute the environment too much. Also, if the Government would totally ban Chinese crackers, it will help the local manufactures at Sivakasi to be able to sell crackers that are less polluting. At present, if the Sivakasi cracker costs Rs 70 per piece, the Chinese is priced at Rs 35. One doesn’t have to guess which one will people buy. But they have to understand that Chinese crackers are very poisonous — they use chemicals which are far more toxic that sulphur which the Sivakasi industry uses. So in some ways it is choosing the lesser of the two evils,” Ali says.

He tells you that there have been talk to improve the quality of crackers and this year a meeting of manufacturers and dealers that took place has decided to introduce many more varieties of crackers that are going to be less noisy. “In fact, we have manufacturers who are working on a cracker bomb that will give out a whistling sound rather than the usual loud bang. These will hit the market by next Diwali,” he tells you.

Though the onus of how one should celebrate Diwali rests with each individual, Gopala says that the end consumer should make an educated buy and go for crackers that are in some more less polluting than the others.

“There are many companies like ours which are using green method to make crackers. Before buying they should check the labelling on the package at the back. The Government has made it mandatory to give out all the information and we adhere to it. So this Diwali, go green and have fun with crackers, Gopala tells you.

Health hazards

• Apart from mild burn and accidents, children breathe toxic air and suffer from nasal irritation and throat congestion
• The smoke also irritates the eyes causing tears and redness. Sometimes the sound from the crackers is so loud that it leads to deafness in people
• Bursting crackers can lead to rise in blood pressure and aggravate heart disease. Nausea, headache and giddiness are common effects of bursting crackers
• lung infection like coughing, sneezing are also common. Respiratory disorders like asthma and wheezing gets severe during Diwali
• The poisonous gases released from the crackers affect pregnant women

—Courtesy: Central Pollution Control Board