Pollution rises as ban, pleas go unheard

The Tribune , Thursday, November 03, 2005
Correspondent : Kanchan Vasdev
Ludhiana, November 2

Not only the ban orders of the Supreme Court (SC) and District Administration on the bursting of firecrackers but also the pleas of schoolchildren and environmentalists fell on deaf ears as the city residents continued to do so well past midnight as the air pollution touched an all-time high here on the festival of lights.

Consequently, the city was covered with a blanket of haze in the morning and the environmentalists say that due to dipping mercury it will take some time for the air to get clear.

Though till the evening it seemed that Divali was a quieter event compared to last year but soon fireworks covered the city skyline.

Residents flouted the Supreme Court directions, banning the use of firecrackers after 10 pm and those generating noise level exceeding 125db or 145 db, with impunity.

Residents burst firecrackers throughout the night and continued till this afternoon. In fact the celebrations gained momentum only after 10 pm.

The night was totally a noisy affair. Although the Punjab Pollution Control Board is yet to calculate datas of the concentration of various gases present in the air, but the smoke in the air and poor visibility was an evidence enough to say that the environment was a casualty.

As many as 33 fire incidents were reported in the city. In many cases, the fire crackers were the cause of fire. Around 50 persons, including children, reported to various hospitals with burn injuries.

Environmentalists say that it is not a new phenomenon for the city as every year after Divali the pollution levels rise to an alarming high due to the fireworks. And the lowering of temperature in the season results in smog.

The city had been witnessing smog for the past several days. A few days ago also the city had witnessed thick smog when farmers resorted to burning of paddy stubble, despite ban by the district administration. The situation was improving but it worsened after last night. Still some farmers, who got delayed in harvesting of paddy, are resorting to the same process.

As the smog is going to continue for some more days, doctors have advised the parents to take special care of young children and infants as they have smaller respiratory passages and are prone to suffer difficulty in breathing.

They said the smoke, which had resulted in the formation of smog after getting mixed with mist, was dangerous for the asthma patients. They advised the patients to cover their noses with a clean cloth before going out.

A green exception

Even as the city residents burst firecrackers on the Divali night caring little for the environment, a physically challenged youth of the city planted 12 saplings on the day.

Baljit Singh, a 33 -year-old physically challenged, planted saplings in different parts of the city with a message to the residents to keep their environment clean.

With the help of his two nephews, Baljit went around in different parts of the city and planted saplings.

“The 12 saplings planted by me would be able to clean the pollution caused by these firecrackers to some extent. This is a small effort but I am hopeful that more hands will join me and the chain thus formed would carry my message ahead,” said an elated Baljit, after planting a sapling at Cheema Chowk.

 
SOURCE : The Tribune, Thursday, November 03, 2005
 


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