Nobody can shirk their responsibility of keeping the surroundings clean. Although the sheer volume of crackers burst might have come down this year, their impact on the environment and the health of individuals, especially children and the elderly, is long-lasting.
After 'Deepavali', the trash piled up on roadsides is a sorry sight. And the increase in pollutants in the air environment in most of Indian cities only highlights the poor level of environmental literacy, observes Dr T V Ramachandra, faculty, Energy and Wetlands Research Group, Centre for Ecological Sciences, IISc.
"Higher levels of air pollutants increase respiratory ailments and affect animals in a crude way. Bursting crackers increases the possibility of fire accidents as well as noise pollution and the toxic content in the air. Air pollutants escalate respiratory and skin diseases," he adds.
It is not only air pollution, but managing cracker waste is a challenge during this time because small pieces of waste get mixed with other solid waste, making it difficult to segregate and clear. The chemicals in these cracker pieces will remain in the atmosphere.
"The extent of garbage dumps or mismanagement only reveals the irregularities in the waste-management system. Paper waste is difficult to clean; it begins to accumulate," adds Ramachandra.
This is a hard time for people with ailments such as asthma and bronchitis, confirms Dr Naresh Bhat, Chief of Medical Services, Aster CMI Hospital. "The air passage gets congested and aggravates short-term illnesses. Those who are already asthmatic are at the risk of the illness worsening. Children and older people must guard against inhaling toxic smoke," advises Dr Naresh Bhat.
He also points out that people living in smaller and crowded spaces are more affected than those living in other localities. "When crackers are burst in small localities, the space is constricted and the impact is greater as opposed to when they are burst in an open space. People living in these localities complain of persistant headache and watery eyes," he adds.
Citizens opine that those who burst crackers don't seem to care about the mess they leave behind. Aafreen Rahman, a design student at NIFT, didn't burst any crackers this year after she began supporting her friend's campaign of 'no crackers' this 'Deepavali'. "The first thing that one wakes up to after 'Deepavali' are dirty streets, filled with small pieces of cracker waste and boxes strewn on the road. It is cleared only after a few days, unless the residents decide to clean it themselves," reasons Aafreen. She feels bursting crackers only gives momentary happiness but leaves behind grave damages.
Most apartment complexes have strict regulations about bursting crackers. Since they don't allow crackers to be burst inside the apartment premises, people take to the streets. Rajashekar Aiyar, a resident of RMV Extension, says, "People are not allowed to burst crackers within the premises but a few of us burst them outside. We make sure it is swept then and there. We don't let cracker waste pile up in the locality. This has also inspired those living in independent houses to follow suit," he reasons.
Vrinda Neeshath, a resident of Horamavu, thinks the most important thing during 'Deepavali' is to effectively manage waste. "There are a few unwritten rules that the residents of our layout follow. We stop bursting crackers after 10 pm and we make sure the roads are cleaned after people burst because 'pourakarmikas' usually don't come this side to clean," says Vrinda.
![]( "hazardous Bursting crackers increases the toxic content in the air. DH Photo by B H Shivakumar")
Nobody can shirk their responsibility of keeping the surroundings clean. Although the sheer volume of crackers burst might have come down this year, their impact on the environment and the health of individuals, especially children and the elderly, is long-lasting.
After 'Deepavali’, the trash piled up on roadsides is a sorry sight. And the increase in pollutants in the air environment in most of Indian cities only highlights the poor level of environmental literacy, observes Dr T V Ramachandra, faculty, Energy and Wetlands Research Group, Centre for Ecological Sciences, IISc.
"Higher levels of air pollutants increase respiratory ailments and affect animals in a crude way. Bursting crackers increases the possibility of fire accidents as well as noise pollution and the toxic content in the air. Air pollutants escalate respiratory and skin diseases,” he adds.
It is not only air pollution, but managing cracker waste is a challenge during this time because small pieces of waste get mixed with other solid waste, making it difficult to segregate and clear. The chemicals in these cracker pieces will remain in the atmosphere.
"The extent of garbage dumps or mismanagement only reveals the irregularities in the waste-management system. Paper waste is difficult to clean; it begins to accumulate,” adds Ramachandra.
This is a hard time for people with ailments such as asthma and bronchitis, confirms Dr Naresh Bhat, Chief of Medical Services, Aster CMI Hospital. "The air passage gets congested and aggravates short-term illnesses. Those who are already asthmatic are at the risk of the illness worsening. Children and older people must guard against inhaling toxic smoke,” advises Dr Naresh Bhat.
He also points out that people living in smaller and crowded spaces are more affected than those living in other localities. "When crackers are burst in small localities, the space is constricted and the impact is greater as opposed to when they are burst in an open space. People living in these localities complain of persistant headache and watery eyes,” he adds.
Citizens opine that those who burst crackers don’t seem to care about the mess they leave behind. Aafreen Rahman, a design student at NIFT, didn’t burst any crackers this year after she began supporting her friend’s campaign of 'no crackers’ this 'Deepavali’. "The first thing that one wakes up to after 'Deepavali’ are dirty streets, filled with small pieces of cracker waste and boxes strewn on the road. It is cleared only after a few days, unless the residents decide to clean it themselves,” reasons Aafreen. She feels bursting crackers only gives momentary happiness but leaves behind grave damages.
Most apartment complexes have strict regulations about bursting crackers. Since they don’t allow crackers to be burst inside the apartment premises, people take to the streets. Rajashekar Aiyar, a resident of RMV Extension, says, "People are not allowed to burst crackers within the premises but a few of us burst them outside. We make sure it is swept then and there. We don’t let cracker waste pile up in the locality. This has also inspired those living in independent houses to follow suit,” he reasons.
Vrinda Neeshath, a resident of Horamavu, thinks the most important thing during 'Deepavali’ is to effectively manage waste. "There are a few unwritten rules that the residents of our layout follow. We stop bursting crackers after 10 pm and we make sure the roads are cleaned after people burst because 'pourakarmikas’ usually don’t come this side to clean,” says Vrinda.
After 'Deepavali', the trash piled up on roadsides is a sorry sight. And the increase in pollutants in the air environment in most of Indian cities only highlights the poor level of environmental literacy, observes Dr T V Ramachandra, faculty, Energy and Wetlands Research Group, Centre for Ecological Sciences, IISc.
"Higher levels of air pollutants increase respiratory ailments and affect animals in a crude way. Bursting crackers increases the possibility of fire accidents as well as noise pollution and the toxic content in the air. Air pollutants escalate respiratory and skin diseases," he adds.
It is not only air pollution, but managing cracker waste is a challenge during this time because small pieces of waste get mixed with other solid waste, making it difficult to segregate and clear. The chemicals in these cracker pieces will remain in the atmosphere.
"The extent of garbage dumps or mismanagement only reveals the irregularities in the waste-management system. Paper waste is difficult to clean; it begins to accumulate," adds Ramachandra.
This is a hard time for people with ailments such as asthma and bronchitis, confirms Dr Naresh Bhat, Chief of Medical Services, Aster CMI Hospital. "The air passage gets congested and aggravates short-term illnesses. Those who are already asthmatic are at the risk of the illness worsening. Children and older people must guard against inhaling toxic smoke," advises Dr Naresh Bhat.
He also points out that people living in smaller and crowded spaces are more affected than those living in other localities. "When crackers are burst in small localities, the space is constricted and the impact is greater as opposed to when they are burst in an open space. People living in these localities complain of persistant headache and watery eyes," he adds.
Citizens opine that those who burst crackers don't seem to care about the mess they leave behind. Aafreen Rahman, a design student at NIFT, didn't burst any crackers this year after she began supporting her friend's campaign of 'no crackers' this 'Deepavali'. "The first thing that one wakes up to after 'Deepavali' are dirty streets, filled with small pieces of cracker waste and boxes strewn on the road. It is cleared only after a few days, unless the residents decide to clean it themselves," reasons Aafreen. She feels bursting crackers only gives momentary happiness but leaves behind grave damages.
Most apartment complexes have strict regulations about bursting crackers. Since they don't allow crackers to be burst inside the apartment premises, people take to the streets. Rajashekar Aiyar, a resident of RMV Extension, says, "People are not allowed to burst crackers within the premises but a few of us burst them outside. We make sure it is swept then and there. We don't let cracker waste pile up in the locality. This has also inspired those living in independent houses to follow suit," he reasons.
Vrinda Neeshath, a resident of Horamavu, thinks the most important thing during 'Deepavali' is to effectively manage waste. "There are a few unwritten rules that the residents of our layout follow. We stop bursting crackers after 10 pm and we make sure the roads are cleaned after people burst because 'pourakarmikas' usually don't come this side to clean," says Vrinda.
Nobody can shirk their responsibility of keeping the surroundings clean. Although the sheer volume of crackers burst might have come down this year, their impact on the environment and the health of individuals, especially children and the elderly, is long-lasting. After 'Deepavali’, the trash piled up on roadsides is a sorry sight. And the increase in pollutants in the air environment in most of Indian cities only highlights the poor level of environmental literacy, observes Dr T V Ramachandra, faculty, Energy and Wetlands Research Group, Centre for Ecological Sciences, IISc.
"Higher levels of air pollutants increase respiratory ailments and affect animals in a crude way. Bursting crackers increases the possibility of fire accidents as well as noise pollution and the toxic content in the air. Air pollutants escalate respiratory and skin diseases,” he adds.
It is not only air pollution, but managing cracker waste is a challenge during this time because small pieces of waste get mixed with other solid waste, making it difficult to segregate and clear. The chemicals in these cracker pieces will remain in the atmosphere.
"The extent of garbage dumps or mismanagement only reveals the irregularities in the waste-management system. Paper waste is difficult to clean; it begins to accumulate,” adds Ramachandra.
This is a hard time for people with ailments such as asthma and bronchitis, confirms Dr Naresh Bhat, Chief of Medical Services, Aster CMI Hospital. "The air passage gets congested and aggravates short-term illnesses. Those who are already asthmatic are at the risk of the illness worsening. Children and older people must guard against inhaling toxic smoke,” advises Dr Naresh Bhat.
He also points out that people living in smaller and crowded spaces are more affected than those living in other localities. "When crackers are burst in small localities, the space is constricted and the impact is greater as opposed to when they are burst in an open space. People living in these localities complain of persistant headache and watery eyes,” he adds.
Citizens opine that those who burst crackers don’t seem to care about the mess they leave behind. Aafreen Rahman, a design student at NIFT, didn’t burst any crackers this year after she began supporting her friend’s campaign of 'no crackers’ this 'Deepavali’. "The first thing that one wakes up to after 'Deepavali’ are dirty streets, filled with small pieces of cracker waste and boxes strewn on the road. It is cleared only after a few days, unless the residents decide to clean it themselves,” reasons Aafreen. She feels bursting crackers only gives momentary happiness but leaves behind grave damages.
Most apartment complexes have strict regulations about bursting crackers. Since they don’t allow crackers to be burst inside the apartment premises, people take to the streets. Rajashekar Aiyar, a resident of RMV Extension, says, "People are not allowed to burst crackers within the premises but a few of us burst them outside. We make sure it is swept then and there. We don’t let cracker waste pile up in the locality. This has also inspired those living in independent houses to follow suit,” he reasons.
Vrinda Neeshath, a resident of Horamavu, thinks the most important thing during 'Deepavali’ is to effectively manage waste. "There are a few unwritten rules that the residents of our layout follow. We stop bursting crackers after 10 pm and we make sure the roads are cleaned after people burst because 'pourakarmikas’ usually don’t come this side to clean,” says Vrinda.