I took pictures of the Sunrise on the 13th, 14th and today morning… three Diwali Mornings. The idea was to see if the annual cracker ban that seems to be in fashion, works or not. Am no fan of crackers but the point is, a cracker ban only during Diwali is unacceptable. Also the last minute ban is totally unacceptable. There are livelihoods dependent on these crackers.
The Sivakasi cracker manufacturers have made green crackers this year and they are working on making them better. Read TamilNadu: A green Diwali with less-emission crackers I Deccan Herald. There is huge potential for exports. The Sivakasi made crackers are world class and the child labour issue has also been resolved to a large extent. We have been to the schools in Sivakasi and I know that the children who earlier worked in the cracker industry have been put into schools.
This is the CONgress MP’s tweet. Do read the thread – https://twitter.com/manickamtagore/status/1327628397380452352?s=20
For once somebody in the CONgress has spoken sense and has spoken for India. Happy to see that change.
The Delhi NCR pollution has got many other reasons and the cracker ban is more optics than of any real value. Do read my earlier blogpost on Understanding Delhi’s SMOKE Season.
On Nov 14th, there was a thick blanket of smoke even though not a single cracker had been burst the previous night. The SMOKE season in Delhi is exclusively used to ensure that Diwali celebrations are dampened. Am totally in favour of crackers of a certain decibel level being allowed, smokeless crackers or having just a few hours window to burst crackers, but banning them totally is an attack on the most important Hindu festival. That’s how I interpret it.
Hoping for a better Diwali 2021. May the left leaning, Hinduphobic NGT and the crazy crop burning be banned rather than crackers.
Pet owners, please keep your pets safe. I understand crackers are not the most pleasant thing for them. But once a year for a couple of hours, its possible to keep them away from the noise and celebrate the festival, especially if the decibel levels are reduced.