Govt exhorts children to celebrate Diwali without crackers

The Centre today launched a campaign to encourage children to combat air pollution by not bursting firecrackers during Diwali, as the air quality in the national capital oscillated between 'severe' and 'very poor' after the festival of lights last year.
The alarming situation had forced the government to take emergency measures.
Union Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan launched the "Harit Diwali, Swasth Diwali" campaign today under which various activities to create awareness and encourage people to participate in combating air pollution will be done.
The move comes ahead of India hosting the FIFA U-17 World Cup in October this year.
Terming the FIFA U-17 World Cup as an "important occasion and a matter for pride", an official statement said that it is important to ensure that there is no inconvenience caused in the conduct of the event and the national image is protected.

Vardhan exhorted school children to celebrate this year's Diwali without bursting crackers and instead help the government in sensitising people about its harmful effects.

Addressing 800 children from schools of Delhi and NCR, Vardhan drew from his experience as a doctor to drive home the hazards of crackers.
"During my time as a doctor, I saw from up-close the unimaginable harms that crackers can do. People suffer burns, go blind, their eardrums explode," he said.
Vardhan also spoke at length about the hazardous effect crackers have on the air quality.
Last year, Diwali fireworks had pushed pollution in Delhi to a dangerous level, the worst in three years, as it turned the air highly toxic due to a deadly cocktail of harmful repairable pollutants and gases.

Under the newly-launched campaign, the school children will be given anti-pollution and anti-crackers theme car stickers, sunscreens, bookmarks etc., which they can distribute to people and tell them about the benefits of 'Green Diwali'.
Many other programmes and competitions will be held by the ministry throughout the month, including a national painting competition, towards spreading the awareness about the harmful effects of crackers.
Vardhan stressed the importance of the contribution of children towards reducing pollution by not bursting harmful fire crackers during Diwali.
He said it is heartening to see that children have taken up the leadership role in combating air and noise pollution caused by burning of fire crackers during Diwali celebrations.

He also urged the children to learn about the chemicals present in the fire crackers and the impact of these toxic substances on various parts of the human body.
He asked children to celebrate this year's Diwali by not buying fire crackers but instead go for a gift, food item or sweets for the poor and underprivileged children living in their locality.
He also administered a pledge for a 'Green and Healthy Diwali'. The pledge will be widely circulated to the schools and colleges and other educational institutions.
Various school administrations will be requested to administer the pledge during the assembly up to Diwali.

According to an official statement, in recent times, the pattern of celebration (during Diwali) has changed and has got associated with excessive bursting of crackers, which contributes significantly to air and noise pollution.
As a result, there has been a significant impact on the environment and health of the people, it said.
"The excessive burning of crackers during Diwali aggravates the problem. The pollution levels in Delhi last year, especially post Diwali, reached such levels that the government had to declare an emergency situation, which had socio-economic consequences like closing down of schools, construction sites and power stations," the statement said.

It added that in October this year, India will be hosting FIFA U-17 World Cup.
"It is important for us to ensure that there is no inconvenience caused in the conduct of the event and our national image is protected and enhanced," it said.