Diwali is just about a week away and the Supreme Court today pronounced a ban on the Sale of Fire Cracker in Delhi. While some welcomed this decision, some people were relieved, some as usual were blinded by religion to even think about the environment.Various Debates and Memes have already spread over the Social Media calling it a biased decision but ignoring the environmental issues.
Delhi is one of the most polluted cities of the world. Last year Delhi observed immense rise in Toxic Smoke post the day of Diwali. The Air pollutants were found to be 42 times more than the permissible levels. India according to the WHO also has the highest death rate due to respiratory diseases. I guess before becoming emotional about our religion it is important to consider a few facts. The following are the benefits from the ban:
- An already polluted city may see a less amount of pollution on the day after Diwali as compared to last year.
- People will suffer from lesser diseases.
- Agreed the Vendors who have already purchased the Fire Crackers for this year will face a huge loss…but Hey Fire Crackers are the products which are sold out on a huge margin.
- Child Labour is used to manufacture these fire crackers, if the Fire Crackers are banned in the entire country by next year for every festival and weddings and other occassions including political rallies, then we can wipe out the forced child labour and also improve the health of those workers by educating them and providing them with other alternative occupations at a later stage.
- We can live in an environment with a better Air.
- We can give a good future to our children because Clean Air = Clean Health and also to the labourers in those Fire Cracker Factories.
As per my limited knowledge,every religion teaches us to value the nature and protect the environment. Then instead of criticizing each other and playing religious politics, why can’t we for once take that one step and pioneer to build a better society and a better environment. Why can’t we take a step and be a role model ourselves and inspire others to build a safer environment. Global Warming is a phenomenon that is going to affect every human being in near future irrespective of your religion. So why can’t we take that one step and curb pollution.