City likely to see ‘severe’ air quality even if people burst same quantity of firecrackers as last year, says SAFAR; despite ban, sound of crackers heard in many areas, police asked to step up vigil to check violations
City likely to see ‘severe’ air quality even if people burst same quantity of firecrackers as last year, says SAFAR; despite ban, sound of crackers heard in many areas, police asked to step up vigil to check violations
With a day to go for Deepavali, authorities in the city are betting on awareness programmes and 408 inspection teams to restrict people from lighting firecrackers. People who buy and burst crackers could be fined ₹200 and face imprisonment up to six months.
According to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), the city is likely to face ‘severe’ air quality on Monday and Tuesday if the same quantity of fireworks are burst this Deepavali as last year.
Every year, air pollution in Delhi spikes post Deepavali night.
Last month, the Delhi government announced a complete ban on all firecrackers, including the green ones, till January 1, 2023. However, its implementation has been tricky: despite varying degrees of curbs in the past three years, people have burst firecrackers across the city, especially on Deepavali.
This year, too, fireworks were used in many parts of Delhi during Vijay Dashmi celebrations on October 5. In fact, as reported by Today News 24, firecrackers were seen being sold at several places in the city a couple of days after the festival. On Friday and Saturday too, fireworks were heard across the city.
Monitoring teams
A total of 408 teams have been formed to penalise production, storage, selling and bursting of firecrackers. Of these, 165 teams have been formed under the Revenue Department, while the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) has formed 33 teams — both under the Delhi government. Moreover, the Delhi police have formed 210 teams.
Earlier this week, acknowledging the violations, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said, “Last year, we received several reports that crackers were burnt despite a ban. We have specially requested the police officers to pay more attention.”
The BJP, meanwhile, has been attacking Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over the ban. Soon after the restrictions were imposed, BJP MP Parvesh Verma said, “When Hindu festivals of Diwali and Dussehra are round the corner, Kejriwal imposes a ban on firecrackers. Every year Delhi has to suffer because of the government’s failure.”
BJP MP Manoj Tiwari had filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the ban, but the top court declined to entertain it.
Diya Jalao drive
As part of the Delhi government’s awareness programme ‘Diye Jalao, Patake Nahi’, about 51,000 earthen lamps were lit at Connaught Place’s Central Park on Friday, with Mr. Rai appealing to people to light diyas instead of firecrackers.
“We ran many awareness programmes on problems caused by firecrackers; these were extensively carried out in newspapers and FM radios, on social media and hoardings too,” a senior Delhi police officer said, adding that many children have been asked to not burst crackers.
According to Delhi Police data, between October 1 and 20, 92 cases were registered for sale of firecrackers. Around 14,523 kg of crackers for the purpose of storage and sale were seized.
As much as 3,608 kg of firecrackers meant for bursting were seized, and up to seven cases have been registered for bursting firecrackers.
“All district police stations are on vigil, identifying those involved in selling or storing crackers. Those found bursting crackers too will be traced with help from local informers,” he said, adding, “This year, we have teams of Crime Branch and Special Cell that have been deployed to keep a check on violators.”
On Saturday, Delhi’s air quality index (AQI) worsened slightly and continued to be ‘poor’. In many parts of north India, the air quality was in the ‘very poor’ category.
The Commission for Air Quality Management held a meeting and directed officials to intensify actions under stage 2 of the Graded Response Action Plan to reduce air pollution, including a ban on diesel generators, except for a list of emergencies, and use of coal and firewood in eateries.
