Blanket ban on manufacturing of crackers need of the hour

Open House: What must be done to enforce ban on firecrackers in letter and spirit?

Awareness campaigns can play a major role

'Rules are meant to be broken' is a popular saying and this aptly fits the residents of city. The Air Quality Index (AQI) was at its worst in Amritsar already due to stubble burning but smoke emanating from crackers played havoc with the health of people, especially children and senior citizens. The administration should enforce the rules more strictly and impose heavy penalties besides initiating legal recourse to the violators. Ban non-green crackers and sale of only eco-friendly green crackers should be permitted. The corporators and councillors should be entrusted with the task of sensitising the people apart from launching social media awareness campaigns. The Residents Welfare Committees should come forward and help administration in maintaining clean and safer environment during festival season.

Anil Vinayak

Laws should strictly be implemented

Diwali is a festival of lights not bursting of crackers. The year 2020 has been a black one for all of us. The government had banned it but people went on till 12 in the midnight. Rules made should strictly be implicated. The person indulging in the act beyond the time limit issued should be fined. To analyse, citizens should also be worried about their health and safety and should not burst crackers beyond the permitted time and the government must also be careful about all this.

Izleen

Act seriously before it gets too late

You have to be strict to enforce the rules in letter and spirit. Nobody will care for the laws unless the offenders are brought to book. Proper responsibility would have to be fixed at different levels as there remains a massive gap between the lawmakers and its implementers. The ones who fail to implement need to be punished first before the offenders. Proper communication of the rules and punishment for the offenders through different channels must be made. This can bring a positive change. Highly qualified, deserving, honest and environmentally cautious people should be deployed to attain the desired outcomes. A war scale preparation is the need of the hour as air pollution is a global issue now. Efforts should be made to make people understand the severity and sensitivity of the problem. We all are parts of an ecosystem and everybody will have to reduce his/her carbon footprint. The day doesn't seem far when everybody would be suffering from contaminated environment-related diseases. We have to start acting seriously before it gets too late.

Anil Sharma

Policy on fireworks should be overhauled

The firecrackers leave a toxic mix of heavy metals, smoke and dust in the air, putting everyone’s health at risk; sometimes for days. The cold air and the lack of favourable winds do not let the smoke from the crackers dissipate. Instead, it hangs around exposing even those who did not participate in the festivities. The banning of crackers is a bold and welcome move by different state government. But no such ban succeeds without proper implementation. The government would need hundreds of flying squads to stop the bursting of crackers across the megalopolis. Culprits must face heavy fines. As government agencies has consistently pointed out, common people, too, must learn to understand the perils of their own act and cooperate with it. The air pollution is at its peak right now and we are seeing how Delhi is covered in smog. Last year, many people had vowed to not burn crackers on Diwali. It should be celebrated together at common place through a laser show without fireworks. Use of green firecrackers should be encouraged to reduce the hazardous air. What would a reasonable firecracker policy look like? First, leave decisions to states and local governments. Second, announce a two to three-year timetable for the transition to less polluting types of firecrackers; with states like Tamil Nadu that produce such bursts helping the industry make the transition. Third, promote moderation and responsible use of firecrackers, using a mix of public education, taxation and restrictions. If we get rid of our bad policy habits, it is possible at most places in India to both celebrate Diwali with firecrackers and be responsible towards the environment.

Amarjit Kalsi

Ban on fireworks need of the hour

The ban imposed on bursting of firecrackers and the window of two hours provided for were torn into smithereens by the people of Punjab without any compunction and consideration. Consequently, air pollution levels increased manifold on Diwali rendering the quality of air to the 'very poor' category in comparison to the 'poor' quality witnessed in 2019. The level of most dangerous particle called PM 2.5, considered hazardous for breathing, was 90 micrograms per cubic metre as compared to 43 in last year. The ban was flouted with impunity making a mockery of the whole well intentioned exercise. The window of two hours from 8-10 pm was recklessly misused as people went on bursting all types of crackers past midnight. Even resolutions made by people vanished into thin air displaying sheer irresponsibility. Therefore, to enforce the rules in letter and spirit, a blanket ban must be imposed on the manufacturing and sale of crackers next time. The workers engaged in making of crackers should be provided alternative means of livelihood and officials who failed disastrously to enforce the ban should be taken to task so that next time they perform their duty earnestly. An exemplary action should be initiated against the violators. People should be enlightened to give up their 'sab chalta hai attitude' if they want to breathe easy during Diwali next time. The laxity on the part of the authorities, who let the things slip out of their control, should be probed to make them understand their responsibility and accountability. Those who blatantly violated the two-hour window should be penalised heavily to make them see reason and logic. It is not only the duty of the government but also of the people to maintain the sanctity of the air and environment. People ought to know that homes should be filled with prayers and illuminated - not with fume, smoke and noise.

Tarsem S Bumrah

Creating awareness best viable option

The need of the hour is to create awareness. However, highly educated citizens are just jeering crowd on violating rules on ban of crackers. Creating awareness is the best counter to this consequence. It is better to start with ourselves. Joining peaceful campaigns and going in neighbouring areas; educating unaware and illiterate people about importance of eco-friendly celebrations and harmful impact of fireworks on environment, animals will certainly bring a visible change. Advertisements on websites, banners, posters, leaflets can all contribute in bringing improvements. The meetings should be conducted by sarpanches of the villages. In spite of wasting money on firecrackers, donating reusable items, clothes, sweets are the best ways to have eco-friendly celebrations. And, violators should be put in prison. Moreover, the government should take some steps towards it. In my opinion, harmful crackers should totally be banned and people selling them should be behind bars. Awareness about green crackers should be passed among people.

Gurpreet Khush

Two-hour time limit has no meaning

When Lord Rama came back then earthen pots were lit by people, I wonder from where the ritual of bursting crackers descended. As in Punjab, government allowed bursting of fireworks for two hours only but I think it will not work here or anywhere in India. So, either you ban it or you don't. Here are some takeaways. Firstly, the transportation of crackers must be stopped from entering the state. So, the policemen are the anchor here. Secondly, if the crackers belong to a registered company then government should sue it. If unregistered, then origin must be traced and appropriate action should be taken. The newspapers should highlight this point and insist people to use only diyas and candles.

Raghav Sharma

Be a whistleblower, help catch culprits

Police should be stricter towards lawbreakers. Every individual can act as a whistleblower by using his/her smartphone to capture any wrongdoings and sending it to the concerned department. Even cash prizes should initially be announced for such a scheme so that people anticipate with full vigour, while being discreet at the same time. Every person buying firecrackers from the market should be informed about the allotted time to burst them by the seller. Text messages containing information about the rules to be followed during festivals should be sent to all the people in the district, as some may not be aware about them.

Jatinderpal Singh

No-nonsense attitude required from govt

According to me a strict action should be taken, all the crackers and rockets should be banned in markets so that people wouldn't buy them. Almost all crackers cause same amount of pollution. I know that people are not following rules but government should take a firm stand.

Navjeet Kaur

Need to formulate a practical plan

Surely, it must have not surprised many that the ban on fireworks went up in flames since it's a ritual on every Diwali. It seems the concerned officials do not want to draw any inspiration from the old adage 'actions speak louder than the words.' Just announcing laws and regulations can't help till a plan is also made to ensure every rule declared is sincerely practised. After all, just issuing statements is the easiest affair. But of course, we should learn from our mistakes and never repeat them. Let's not forget, pollution is a big concern. The biggest lesson is clear enough - we need to formulate a practical plan during the ban period. The first step should be to check that no one sells crackers, taking police's help at all levels. This time many shops kept selling crackers. According to many, including certain news reports, police took bribe from many of the sellers. Hopefully, next time such odd scenarios where corruption gets involved are also taken into consideration. The top officials in the police department should take note; else we will fail to help ourselves and most importantly the environment.

Rameshinder Singh Sandhu

Sensitising masses would help big time

Awareness is a pre-requisite to curb the sale and purchase of firecrackers. This is the reason most people do not think about the environment and keep buying it. If someone tries to make masses aware, the irascible people, it leads to a brawl. This kind of behaviour is unacceptable. I see some empty-headed people questioning others and asking 'What is your problem if we burst crackers and how are you contributing to save environment?' Even if no one is contributing, at least we should not raise the AQI level by lighting crackers. In my opinion, the school children should be taught the consequences by their teachers. This will help a lot because if children are not demanding firecrackers, then it's quite obvious parents would not buy it. I hope that in the next Diwali, which is on 4th November 2021, the mindset of people will change and a green Diwali and a very low AQI will light it up.

Saahil Hans

Where are the law enforcing agencies?

The ban on firecrackers this time was not adhered to by the people. Instead, we polluted the environment with great zeal and enthusiasm. The role of the law enforcing agencies was negligible. The government should have put a blanket ban on the sale of crackers. Its manufacturing should be banned and defaulters behind the bars. The government should take care of the health of the people and not hanker after votes all the time. Let's learn from it and don't let it happen next time.

Ravi Davesar

Strike at the root of the problem

In our country guidelines for any fruitful purpose carry no meaning. See the fate of stubble burning and traffic rules guidelines. It is only the strict rules with huge amount of fines that plays as a deterrent to enforce the same. A massive advertisement campaign by the Centre and the state governments failed to convince the general public about the ill-affects of the air pollution caused by firecrackers. The main headline of your newspaper reads 'Ban not enforced, Delhi air worst in 4 years and the next page carries the news heading 'Cracker ban goes up in smoke'. Instead of banning the sale of firecrackers, the central government should ban its manufacturing because different state governments banned the sale when the traders of the firecrackers had already made a huge investment, hence, to recover the same, traders do adopt all sorts of tricks to recover their investments. So, the permanent solution to the problem is to ban the manufacturing of all sorts of firecrackers by issuing a notification at least six months prior next Diwali.

Harsh N Johar

QUESTION

A second wave of Covid-19 is feared in Punjab as the number of cases is witnessing a rise everyday. What should the authorities and residents do to prevent a second outbreak of the virus?

Suggestions in not more than 200 words can be sent to amritsardesk@tribunemail.com by Thursday (November 26).