Question

What are the bad effeccts of various festivals on environment ?

Answer 1

Environment is the natural world which is made by the living beings (people, animals and the plants) and land. Therefore it is the surroundings that affect the behaviour and development of a living being or a thing. The surroundings may be living factors like plants, animals and decomposers and non-living things like air, water, light, soil etc. Human beings are the product of the environment. They are an important factor of the environment. It is the environment that helps us for our survival, growth, development, reproduction and health. No creature's existence is possible without the balance of the natural elements. Thus, there must be a healthy environment for our sound living. The healthier the environment the happier the living beings including humans. However, knowing that the environment should be clean, healthy and non-polluted, the large scale celebration of various festivals have degraded the quality of the environment. The practice of immersion of Ganesh idols after the Ganesh festival in various cities is causing severe water pollution which leads to the death of tonnes of fish and many aquatic creatures. The immersion of Durga Statutes during the Durga pooja is also a cause of concern for environmentalists. In Orissa alone 5,000 Durga pooja idols are made, most of them using harmful paints. Diwali, one of the important festivals in India has the distinction of polluting the environment to the core. Newborns and aged people have a nightmarish experience because of the high levels of sound caused by crackers during Diwali. Noise pollution on Diwali is between 69.7 db and 88.3 db which are higher than the prescribed limit of 50 db. The decibel levels alarmingly high in metros and it may reach up to 100 db. The government, police, pollution control boards are suggesting many alternative ways to celebrate festivals which does not pollute the environment. Even strict and stringent warnings are also given to public to refrain from bursting crackers such as atom bombs, hydrogen bombs, bullet bombs, thousand and ten thousand wallas. But it is all solely depend on the “change of mind”.
The project aims to understand and raise awareness about the bad effects of various festivals on the environment and help us know how it degrades the environment and also how can we reduce its ill effects on the environment. Festivals is of great significance in the Indian culture because it marks a special event in its history and hence is a cause for celebration. But since it has a lot of bad effects on the environment today, we must know how to reduce it as much as possible and how to start using eco friendly products to pave way for a healthier and more sustainable environment.