BENGALURU: On Thursday, Bengalureans indulged in what is an integral part of Deepavali for most people — bursting firecrackers. Though the sky was lit up, residents and traders feel the amount of firecrackers burst this year was not as high as what it was in the previous years.Anil Mehra (11) said while he enjoyed bursting crackers, he had not burst any crackers this year to reduce air pollution. “It was tough not to buy any crackers as I love bursting them, but I was taught about the effects of crackers on the environment in school. I do not want to harm the environment in any way.”
Neha Kapoor, another Bengalurean from Murgeshpalya, said her family had not purchased any firecrackers, and had bought only one sparkler. “Our kids were taught about firecrackers causing pollution and breathing problems in school. This is our way of contributing to help the environment,” she said.
However, the cheer from reduction in crackers was consequently preceeded by gloom for dealers of crackers by a fall in sales. Traders assigned multiple reasons for the same. Ashwath Narayan, a trader in Bommanahali, reported about 50 per cent fall in sales as compared to the previous year.
He said the fact that rainfall had stopped only three days ago in the city and children being taught not to burst crackers in school were the main reasons for this. Another trader, Kiran, too cited awareness among kids as the major reason for the fall in sales, and said he had not expected it to this extent. He also claimed sales had reduced by 50-60 per cent as compared to the previous year.
Air pollution still goes up
The reduction in number of crackers could not stop the pollution from reaching a high level in the city. As per the website aqicn.org, the Air Quality Index, a measure of amount of particulate matter in the atmosphere, ranged from 161, categorised ‘unhealthy,’ at BTM Layout to 280, categorised ‘very unhealthy’ at the City Railway Station as of 10 pm on Thursday.
The Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) monitored the levels of air and noise pollution in the city, and will submit consolidated results to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). As per KSPCB Chairman Lakshman, there are 14 stations to monitor air quality and 13 stations to monitor noise level.