Crackers have been a very integral part of every celebration in our culture and Diwali marks the biggest and the most substantial reason to burst them. With the increasing need to protect the environment, every city has become alarmingly conscious about their responsibilities and has tried to minimize the usage of materials that are hazardous to the ecology.
The Jharkhand State Pollution Control Board has sworn on the planet to protect it from harmful gases and unbearable blares. The regional office situated in Jamshedpur conducted a check across all the residential areas to ascertain the intensity and amount of fireworks. The police department of the East Singhbhum district had distributed leaflets that forced serious restrictions on bursting crackers late at night. Measures were also taken to inspect authorized shops selling crackers, failing to which there was a mandatory imposition of legal actions.
To avoid mishaps, more than 400 policemen were employed for unrestrained patrolling in the city at night to keep a check on rash driving and suspicious individuals. The arrangement of extra doctors in prevalent hospitals, adequate ambulances and fire brigades were done to manage the unforeseeable circumstances.
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Apart from the civil authorities, the educational institutions and non-governmental organisations were a great sport in remediating the festivities in a way that is environmentally accepted. Renowned institutes like Xavier’s School of Management and National Institute of Technology were a part of the universally proclaimed bandwagon.The dangerous effect that these fireworks have on human health is undeviating. The city in all dimensions shook hands in spreading the message of love which is louder than crackers.
Though the activists formulated every action in order to celebrate a green Diwali, the city people were seen to be aware of the undying consequences on priority. ‘Social media has been a great harbinger of the world’s calamities. It’s been 5 years that I have stopped purchasing crackers due to its impending outcome.
Diwali is all about spending time with relatives, eating good food and clicking lots of selfies. The festival can be fun without crackers as well’, exclaimed Alka Prajapati, a working professional.
The social message of humanity and happiness has a strong impact on mortal beings. The festival demands an equal aura of ecstasy on every stratum of people irrespective of their economic situation. ‘No matter how advanced the technology is, people flock to us in order to buy diyas. With changing preferences, we have tried to imbibe artistic designs and colours to make the earthen lamps look attractive’, stated Ganesh, a Sonari based porter in the city.
There has been apalpableincrease in the price of earthen potteries due to the accentuating cost of raw materials but people can still afford to purchase them as they are incessantly cheaper than the Chinese lights. Simmi Kapoor, a home-maker remarked, ‘Our tradition calls for a mandate decoration of diyas and rangolis. Our houses can glitter up with artificial lights but earthen lamps filled with oil are lighted up to fill the void’.
The era of LED has been on an evolving process to introduce various features to festoon the surroundings. The scintillating invention has been so glamorous that it succeeded in shifting the consuming pattern of several customers. Millennials now have a peculiar inclination towards these lights and they don’t cringe for crackers anymore. Sky lanterns are also on trend and are heavily purchased instead of crackers. ‘I love to decorate the house with fancy lights and embrace the beauty of it as the key aspect of the festival.
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In spite of having a dozen of lights in the store, I make it a point to buy a new one every year’, uttered Ayush, a 17-year-old student.
The alteration in predilection had caused a major drawback for the cracker shop owners. Acclaimed cracker shops have been officially set up in the entire stretch of the city. The economic recession and the dubious cyclonic condition amalgamated together in destroying the crackers market. Moreover, worldwide campaigns demonstrating the consequences created by crackers on the environment added to it. ‘We’ve put up stalls fora week but the unpredictable rains have been a hurdle in our business. The rain stopped a day before but the numbers of customers were below expectations’, said Raju, a cracker stall owner at Aambagan, Sakchi.
With the advancement in technology and news dissemination, the horizon of learning has become wide. People are prudent enough and are responsible to realize the aftermath of a night-long, smoky celebration. The nucleated society is coming together on a similar issue and is trying all means to evade excessive pollution. Jamshedpur, known for its non-toxic air quality, had taken an oath to celebrate the festival of lights with peace, joy and harmony.
