Villagers of Kansa in Gujarat shun crackers for sake of environment

A small village in Gujarat stood out yesterday when the rest of the state or for that matter the entire country celebrated Diwali by bursting fire crackers.

The village Kansa in Mehsana district, about 180km from here ensured that the skies remained quiet.

Rameshbhai Patel, a villager from Kansa said that for the past several decades, Kansa has not set off a single fire cracker for the sake of environment.

It is like an unwritten rule here that bans fire crackers and people happily follow it.

Instead of bursting of fire crackers, the village organises sports and cultural events to celebrate Diwali, he said.

Patel claimed shops located in the village do not store fire works and fire cracker dealers have failed in their attempt on selling fire crackers to the people  in the village. he said.

"We want to convey the message that it is time to protect the environment and need to create awarness about it", he said.