Ahmedabad NGOs strive for less noisy Diwali

Lights, firecrackers, sweets, get-togethers… all this is part of the approaching festival of Diwali. However, apart from these, the festival is associated with noise and air pollution as well as child labour. City-based organisations have already come up with ideas to spread awareness about different environmental and social issues.  

The organisations have planned informative programmes to discourage use of crackers. They are propagating the idea of celebrating Diwali by lighting lamps. Some of them have even started spreading awareness about crackers that produce little noise. One of them plans to urge people not to buy crackers from companies that employ children to make firecrackers.   

Sukhdev Patel of NGO Gantar points out that after many years, festive days of Diwali will coincide with Children’s Day on November 14. 

“Many manufacturers of firecrackers employ children. As the Children’s Day coincides with Diwali, we plan to make people aware about these kids’ situation. Working in firecracker factories jeopardises their health and thus future. So, we want to appeal to people not to buy crackers from such companies,” he says. Any product of companies that employ children should not be used, he adds. 

Paryavaran Mitra, an NGO working in the field of environment, has been spreading awareness about pollution through workshops and seminars. “We have been asking people to use low decibel crackers to reduce noise pollution. But our authorities say they don’t have the machine to check the noise created by crackers,” says Mahesh Pandya of the NGO.  

AIESEC Ahmedabad too has come up with an idea to celebrate the festival with difference. “We plan to encourage people to light lanterns (tukkals) instead of bursting crackers. We expect a crowd of around 500 people at the event,” says Shrey Jani of AIESEC in Ahmedabad.