Question

Methodology for impact of festivals on environment

Answer 1

• Ahead of Diwali, the Supreme Court banned the sale of firecrackers in Delhi-NCR till 1 November 2017. The judgement was delivered by the apex court to protect the city from the recurrence of 2016-like incident
• In the previous year, on the next day of Diwali, the air quality in Delhi 14 times more polluted than the safe limit.
• Smoke from firecrackers choked the air and also affected visibility in large parts of Delhi and the adjoining areas in Uttar Pradesh.

It is against this backdrop, it is pertinent to know the reasons for increased pollution during festivals, its impact on the environment and health and also the steps to be taken to curtail this alarming situation.

Reasons for increased pollution during festivals are –

• Bursting of crackers on the occasion of various festivals like Dussehra and Diwali, increase in usage of fuels as a result of travelling during festivals and high consumption of ‘unclean’ fuels by eatery shops to meet the festive season demands cause the air pollution to increase during festivals.

• Immersion of idols and related pooja material in nearby streams, lakes and rivers after Ganesh Chaturthi and Dussehra are the primary reason behind pollution of water bodies across the country.

• Unrestricted use of loudspeakers and burning of high decibel crackers causes the noise levels go up compared to the normal times and cause the noise pollution during festivals.

• The imported crackers, especially from China are found be to be violating the norms of the land.