As in past years, the Uttarakhand Environment Protection and Pollution Control Board (UEPPCB) will be measuring the noise and air pollution levels in Dehradun during the Deepawali festivities. However, despite there being talks in the public about shunning noisy crackers and using Indian products during the celebrations, the Supreme Court order of July 2005 banning the bursting of fire crackers in residential areas will be blatantly violated in the State capital like past years.
According to the UEPPCB regional officer SS Rana, during Deepawali celebrations the board will measure the air pollution at sites in Raipur Road, Clock Tower and Nehru Colony while noise pollution will be measured at about a dozen places across the town.
Noise during the festivities will be measured in the silence zones outside Doon Hospital and Combined Medical Institute, the residential area of Nehru Colony and the commercial areas of the Clock Tower and Survey Chowk among other locations. Regarding enforcement of noise pollution regulations, Rana said that the board was a monitoring body so the authority concerned would have to look into the enforcement. last year air pollution on Deepawali was measured at 397.96 microgrammes per cubic metre in Nehru Colony, 227.03 mpcm at Clock Tower and 224.70 mpcm at Raipur Road.
The level of noise pollution also registered a marked increase in various localities of the city. The once green and peaceful Doon Valley has now become noisier with a rise in the general level of noise in the city which spikes up considerably during Deepawali celebrations. Recently, Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan had urged the lieutenant Governor of Delhi, Najeeb Jung to ensure that the national capital celebrates a “silent Diwali” this year.
The Minister had stated in an email to the lieutenant-Governor, that noise-pollution free Deepawalis are fast becoming the norm in many parts of the country. A Supreme Court order of July 2005 had banned the bursting of fire crackers in residential areas, he had pointed out. However, inspite of there being talk of celebrating an eco-friendly Deepawali in Dehradun, the authorities and general public largely remain apathetic to the noise pollution generated by fire crackers during Deepawali.