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Speak up Delhi – Same story, rather worse: Delhiites' defiance leave city choking on haze

Even after the SC's order, there were numerous people who chose to be ignorant of the verdict

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In a scene dripping with irony, Delhiites were seen wearing masks while bursting firecrackers
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"Once you stop learning, you start dying." The present situation in Delhi resonates with Albert Einstein's words. Even after the Supreme Court's order keeping in mind city's deteriorating air quality, numerous people chose to be ignorant of the verdict and blissfully contributed to the deteriorating the AQI of the national capital during Diwali.

As a result, Delhiites woke up to a hazy morning a day after Diwali as the air quality entered the "severe-plus emergency" category, at 574, bursting of firecrackers according to data by the Centre-run System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research.

The festival of light turned out to be more polluted than last year when the AQI was 367, thanks to outright defiance of Delhiites who refused to comply with the SC's orders banning traditional firecracker and setting a time limit to burst them. The city violated the top court's directives with impunity choosing festivities over health.

The city was enveloped in a thick blanket of haze, constituting of dangerous pollutants like PM 2.5, PM 10, noxious gases like carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, and sulphur dioxide (SO2), all attributed to heavy fireworks. The SC judgement had banned traditional crackers in the city, permitting only green ones that have a lesser quantity of harmful chemicals. The court also fixed a two-hour window to burst crackers, from 8 pm to 10 pm, directing Station House Officers (SHO) to ensure implementation of the orders. The court had said that SHOs will be held personally liable for violation of its directives which came in the wake of sharply rising pollution levels in Delhi this time of the year due to stubble burning in neighbouring Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh.

However, Delhi cared two hoots about the apex court orders and celebrated the festival of lights with firecrackers. Shudders from firecrackers could be heard all night. Utter disregard to health and the court was reported from all across the city, as people turned the festival of light into one of the toxic fumes, noise and sound. Areas like Punjabi Bagh, Rajouri Garden, Mayur Vihar, Saket, Anand Vihar, Rohini, Mundka, Preet Vihar, Janakpuri were rife with booms of crackers as the police refused to crack down on offenders. "I am convinced that a large number of people have a myopic view that finishes at celebrating Diwali with crackers. They do not understand that they will also be breathing in the same venom they are spewing through firecrackers," said Dr Shilpa Gulati, a city-based gynaecologist.

VOICES

When I saw people bursting crackers wearing face masks, I was amused. Their insensibility might kill them much before pollution. The ban on crackers is for the sake of deteriorating air quality, it is not even remotely related to sentiments or ethnicity. The alarm went off long back if people don't wake up now, when will they?
Ratnam Singh, student

Do we even realise what kind of planet we are leaving for the generations to come? I have always found the idea of bursting crackers to be foolish and was secretly happy that I will be spared the noise and pollution following SC order. However, citizens made a mockery of court and their health too.
Neha Srivastava, student

I have small kids who were insisting to burst crackers but when I reasoned with them, they agreed to not do so. On the other hand, adults were going crazy over fireworks. What example are we setting for future generation?
Ashok Mehta, businessman

I was appalled to see the way my neighbours went berserk with bursting crackers. It is so foolish to keep your health at stake and literally play with fire. Unfortunately, some people leave no opportunity to blame the government for not doing enough when they themselves are not willing to give up their festive thrills for a better future.
Keerti Kakkar, teacher

I think people get some sort of cheap thrill by violating rules. They are so short-sighted that they did not even realise that the orders were passed for their own good. There is no sense of community habitation among Delhiites at least. They callously jeopardise others' health with their juvenile defiance.
Tapan Puri, mechanical engineer

For the past three years, we have witnessed what the deadly cocktail of stubble burning and crackers do to our city and our health. The festival wouldn't have been any less joyous had we followed the court orders.
Parvati, housewife

EXPERT SPEAK

The air was clean a few days ahead of Diwali. The air quality oscillated between 'poor' and 'very poor' categories due decrease in pollutants from stubble burning. The sudden spike cannot be attributed to anything but fireworks. People need to be sensitised about the dangers of tampering with nature. The defiance is detrimental to our health in the end.
Dr Radha Goyal, Deputy Director, IPCA

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