[Mafia]

I stopped bursting firecrackers in my early teens. Have avoided them most diwalis since.

Now my son is keen on the noiseless ones. We try and keep it to a minimum. I am trying to reason with him the pros and cons of firecrackers.

[abhi7013]

Originally Posted by Mafia

I stopped bursting firecrackers in my early teens. Have avoided them most diwalis since.

Now my son is keen on the noiseless ones. We try and keep it to a minimum. I am trying to reason with him the pros and cons of firecrackers.

That's a really good step to take instead of blaming various government bodies and individuals!
To teach young ones the hazards of fireworks, not just during diwali, but on other occasions as well! That way, it won't remain "1 day out of 365!".
And people conveniently make it 1 day for the sake of argument, though they know its for three full days which does make loads of difference!

[Ragavsr]

I will burn all sorts of crackers every Diwali. Diwali pollution lasts for only 3 days .

If crackers was a major source of pollution , then why do our cities remain polluted the remaining 362 days? The pollution control board in its report had clearly mentioned dust as the major source of pollution (70%), with industrial pollution and vehicular pollution making the rest.

Pollution from crackers would not even account for 0.5% of total pollution. Yet, our useless people on the Supreme Court want to ban firecrackers to push their own agenda by twisting the interpretation of existing laws while turning a blind eye to everything else.

Why can't they issue orders to use street sweepers to cut down on dust for a change? No, they won't, because their only aim is to target the common man.

For all its worth, I might use a fuel efficient car to cut down on pollution. I have solar panels in my house while the people who are lecturing about pollution here buy inefficient SUVs. I prefer to cause my share of pollution by bursting crackers instead of burning diesel.

[aaggoswami]

I will burn a few crackers. Not much, with type of "rockets" that aren't making too much noise. I abhor noise and that also includes noise creating Diwali crackers.
Coming to banning these crackers the lack of any logic becomes apparent.
If its about environment, we had solar panels in our home since last 19+ years. We still have solar geyser at some since last 17+ years. Doing the best I can. Still have trees inside my compound, so much so that compound wall is damaged as trees grow larger and roots expand.
Sometimes, there is some smell of chemical in my area. Not bothersome, but its there. Occassionally it gets covered in newspaper, mostly it doesn't. While traveling via Nandesari (Vadodara, Guajrat) there is strong smell of chemicals on the road. Have observed this since we had Premier President. Dad used to scold me and my sister for not closing the damn hard rolling, manually winding rear windows fast enough after his warning. That strong is the smell. Why not tackle industrial pollution first ? Coming to vehicles, poor road quality also contributes to pollution. Toll plaza is another source where energy and resources are wasted. Seemingly illogical stuff gets away with impunity. Interestingly, SC is silent on these factors, but lightening quick to ban crackers.

[am1m]

Well, I think this Diwali was certainly a lot less noisy and polluted in Bangalore. At least in my area. And since I've lived in more or less the same pin code all my life I can say for certain that it was a whole lot less noisy than it used to be 20 and even 10 years ago. So, some positives.

The traffic noise and pollution during the rest of the year though...another and diametrically opposite story/growth curve altogether!

[abhi7013]

Originally Posted by am1m

Well, I think this Diwali was certainly a lot less noisy and polluted in Bangalore. At least in my area. And since I've lived in more or less the same pin code all my life I can say for certain that it was a whole lot less noisy than it used to be 20 and even 10 years ago. So, some positives.

The traffic noise and pollution during the rest of the year though...another and diametrically opposite story/growth curve altogether!

Am very happy to report the same in my area too!
However, today's article in Deccan Herald says the respiratory cases in Bangalore have increased in the days following diwali. So much for "just one day a year". Irrespective of festivals, banning crackers itself would solve the problem. But we know it's easier said than done!

[srishiva]

Again, a judgement from SC on time table for bursting crackers. I agree that we need to limit the cracker burning and the pollution it causes. Isn't it easy if they start from cracker manufacturers on getting the right crackers for a start ? Its not going to stop suddenly.
Where is people's participation in all this ? Few people appeal and orders are handed down.

[selfdrive]

In the last few years, I had given up on burning crackers. However, with these kind of rulings I would like to burn as many crackers as I can afford.

If the Supreme court was really serious about pollution they would tackle these topics first:
- Traffic & Infrastructure: Build sustainable transport options to reduce private vehicles on the roads. Every evening, there are so many engines running in bumper to bumper traffic it is unbelievable. Most of the traffic chaos is caused due to extremely poor road designs, which no one cares to correct.
- Crop burning: in the NCR the major reason for smog was cited as crop burning. Any actions on those?
- Garbage burning: All across the country we see people burning garbage. What ever happened to sustainable garbage disposal and recycling? What is the need to burn leaves when they can create compost?
- Industrial pollution: there is so much industrial discharge/ pollution going in to what used to be called rivers earlier that they now resemble sewers.

Every season these people wake up at festival time to remind us not to waste water/ burn crackers. It sounds eerily similar to the concept of blaming the common man for not voting/ electing the wrong person (almost absolving the corrupt/ incompetent folks of their deeds). Somehow the mistake is always ours. And then the media/ Finance minister will praise the resilience of the Indian middle class. Extol our virtues and squeeze more taxes out of us. Little wonder that so many of the middle class choose to go to other countries where the middle class gets better bang for their buck. Taxes may be higher but at least they get something in return.

/end rant

[deadguy25]

Bursting crackers is one thing, the other part is where we burst.
Agreed we burst it on the streets, but the minimal thing we could do is, inform approaching pedestrians and vehicles about a lit cracker that is about to burst.

My diwali: We light lamps, do pooja etc, but have stopped buying crackers for almost 5 years now.
Almost all of us do our bit of helping the needy, I add-on to this by including around INR5000 for buying clothes (instead of buying crackers) to the not so fortunate.

Mods, If my post is off-topic, please delete it.

@ selfdrive: absolutely correct. Instead of fixing bigger things, imposing restrictions for one-day celebrations is not the way to fix things.

[KrisTvpm]

I'm all for reducing pollution and minimising crackers -- but not just during Deepavali ! For this reason, I try to reduce car usage as much as possible when I travel solo and rely on public transport or bike -- my 2cents!

Agreed, Deepavali is a festive event during which MASS cracker bursting happens and hence pollution gets multiplied many times esp. in a city like Bengaluru which is grappling with high vehicular emission/pollution, as compared to other singleton events like marriages/political parties' usage etc.

But IMHO the apex court is harsh in bringing about a diktat saying don't burst crackers/do it timebound/only certain types etc. If they are earnest in their efforts, they should've brought out this much before the festival so as not to become a blocker on the fireworks industries' earnings, plus also enforce this same on mass usage of crackers for other events as well !? And also put a stop to other mass-polluters like various STC buses, industries like graphite-India in Bengaluru etc !?

For my part as an environment conscious citizen, I have already reduced cracker usage during Deepavali to bare minimum from the last 5+ years! Just for the festive mood, I allow the kids to have a few light-bearing ones without the noise & gas !

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by selfdrive

If the Supreme court was really serious about pollution they would tackle these topics first:

There's only so much the SC can do when everyone on the ground is in cahoots with one another:

One fourth of the Aravalli range is just gone.

The apex court also referred to a central empowered committee report that 31 hills or hillocks have vanished in the state’s Aravalli area.

The disappearance of hills in Rajasthan could be one reason for the rise in pollution levels in Delhi, the court said.

In February this year, a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report said Rajasthan’s mines department granted, renewed and extended mining leases violating Supreme Court’s orders against mining in the Aravali mountain range.

Illegal mining in Rajasthan which has a rich reserve of copper, lead, zinc, rock phosphate, soapstone, silica sand, limestone, marble and gypsum in the Aravalli mountain range has razed several hills over the years.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/jaipu...ehgOXxfJJ.html

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...w/66336416.cms

[ksameer1234]

I do my bit through the year to save environment and reduce pollution. As for festive celebrations, I have personally witnessed dramatic reduction over past two-decades, whether it is for bursting crackers, playing holi with colours, kite flying etc. I don't think Supreme Court really needs to do anything, we ourselves are voluntarily giving up on traditional ways of celebrations. May be 50 years down the line, Diwali will just be another public holiday when people will go to watch movies or go for a long drive.

Till that happens, I will do my bit to celebrate festivals in memory of my childhood and to give younger generations a flair of how it used be 20-30 years ago. So there will be electricity guzzling lights, oil-drinking lamps, candles and some fire-crackers to along with them.

[am1m]

I will be escaping from the city as usual this Diwali

I used to love bursting crackers as a child, now I can't stand the smoke and smell.

As long as something is not prohibited by law, I guess to each their own. But arguing that just because there are bigger and more long-term causes of pollution that have not been tackled, bursting crackers and the resulting week-long increase in pollution and noise is somehow justified is pretty thin!

Either way, Happy Deepavali to everyone!

[bigben]

I think we have enough of noise and pollution in the city and would not want to add more of it. From my perspective it is a definite NO!!

[V.Narayan]

Will I burn fireworks this Diwali - a big yes I will. Fire works, Deepavali lights on the house/balcony, sweets, oil lamps - the whole lot. Pollution in Delhi-NCR - well uncovered construction sites; roads dug up and never paved back leaving the dust to fly unhindered; open areas not grassed over; two-wheelers; trucks - they are the big trouble makers in Delhi not to talk of crop burning. By going after Deepavali the Honourable Supreme Court is going after 1/365th of the problem.