With air and noise pollution levels again at alarming levels after Diwali, think-tanks on environment have now questioned the Diwali pollution management system of the Government. According to Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), sustaining the pollution control efforts for further reduction in pollution levels is turning out to be an
enormous challenge.
The official release of the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) shows that Diwali pollution has remained dangerous — if not worse, it is nearly as bad as last year. There is some dip in the average
minimum and maximum
levels compared to last year. But pollution level has seen rapid escalation beyond the
standards and also very high short duration peaks during Diwali night — leading to high exposure levels.
Emphasising on the need to phase in good practices quickly, CSE members said, “Other countries have developed proper strategies to regulate fire crackers related to celebration and festivities. Public health is given a priority. In Beijing and Shanghai in order to cope with record smog, they have issued an emergency plan to curb air pollution, including a ban on fireworks when the city sees three consecutive days of heavy smog. The Government of Hangzhou, a historic city near Shanghai, has cancelled its annual New Year fireworks display, a decade-long tradition. New techniques introduced for green fireworks. The new ones are made of special paper and without sulphur. After being lit, they emit less smoke and leave almost no scraps. All these fireworks are labelled.”
In the UK, it said, “The Fireworks Regulation Act 2004 prohibits the use of fireworks in England and Wales between the hours of 11 pm and 7 am, although extensions are given for the following special events.
These regulations are enforced by the police and a penalty of up to £5,000 or six months in prison can be issued for a breach. So, Diwali pollution cannot be addressed only with command and
control measures. It is
important to step up campaigns by involving the medical community and putting out hard health evidences in the public domain to sensitise people about the harmful effects of firecrackers.”