DNA Edit: Not implementable – The SC order on sale of crackers was flouted openly

The main point of discussion on the morning after Diwali was not just the dangerously high pollution levels in Delhi-NCR and the toxic smog that had enveloped vast swathes of the national capital, but whether an order, such as was passed by the Supreme Court imposing a ban on sale of traditional fire crackers, was implementable at all. By the apparent looks of it, it was not. Despite the apex court putting a cap on bursting crackers, residents flouted it with gay abandon throughout the capital and beyond to other NCR areas. As per the directive, only green crackers were to be burnt between 8-10 pm, but it was too good to be true. Crackers were being burst well past the deadline and in many areas, even beyond midnight. The Delhi Fire Services received 209 calls on Diwali, but there is very little clarity on what is going to be done next. 

The apex court specially held station house officers (SHOs) responsible for sale of crackers in their respective areas, but all these measures put together have not been enough. Even though the police has admitted that there were violations, and that they would take action against those guilty, an already overstretched force can only do so much. To keep an eye on a Delhi population of 11 million (as per 2011 Census) with a police force strength of nearly 85,000, is a bit ambitious. Lets face it. In the absence of voluntary action, such orders can hardly be implemented and that too on a Diwali day. 

While the Delhi Police did crack down on sale of crackers in the national capital, journalists witnessed their open sale in the warehouses of Ghaziabad district. On the Delhi-Meerut highway, part of the NCR, crackers were being sold by the road side without a policeman in sight. Naturally, that was the signal for open sale. Shops were selling large quantities of fountains, sparkles, ground spinners, rockets and Ravan bombs, among an assortment of high-end crackers. Little wonder that all roads on the Diwali day led to Ghaziabad and Meerut. As for 'green' crackers, such as described by the apex court, no one knew where it was being sold. Queries about green crackers elicited the familiar refrain 'what green crackers'. The ban order came too late in the day for wholesale buyers to make the switch. The consequences were there for all to see. 

According to the Delhi Pollution Control Committee, which monitors pollution levels at eight locations across the city, while particulate matter (PM) 2.5 levels reached 549 micrograms per cubic metre as against the prescribed standard of 60 micrograms per cubic metre, PM10 levels touched 766 micrograms per cubic metre, which is 666 micrograms above the prescribed limit. Pollution levels near the Indira Gandhi International Airport went up to an all-time high with PM2.5 reaching 239.27 micrograms per cubic metre as against of 60 micrograms per cubic metre and PM10 reaching 550.86 micrograms per cubic metre, which was 450 micrograms above the permissible. The Supreme Court order had clearly gone up in a haze of toxic smoke.