Delhi set for smoggy Diwali as firework sales thrive after two yrs of Covid

Ban, strict fines fail to deter buyers, Air Quality Index at 247, hits 'poor' category on Sunday, a day ahead of Diwali

A restriction-free Diwali after two years of the pandemic has buoyed marketplaces and people eager to return to old-fashioned celebrations. As markets across the country anticipate packed last-minute crowds, the firecracker industry hopes to bounce back, and several retail sectors expect a sales booster this year, in the national capital it’s a case of “the more things change, the more they remain the same”.

The cloud of severe air pollution is looming again in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR).

Ahead of Diwali, the air quality index of Delhi was recorded at 247, in the “poor” category, on Sunday. According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data, the air quality is likely to remain in the lower end of “very poor” on Monday and “very poor” category on Tuesday.

The Supreme Court has given a blanket ban on the sale and bursting of all firecrackers in the Union Territory, and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Delhi government has announced strict fines. Bursting firecrackers on Diwali can attract a jail term of up to six months and a fine of Rs 200 in Delhi. The production, storage and sale of crackers in Delhi is also punishable with a fine of up to Rs 5,000 and three years in jail under Section 9B of the Explosives Act.

Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said earlier this week that 408 teams had been formed to ensure effective implementation of the ban. So far, about 13,000 kg of crackers have been seized.

Black market sales abound

Business Standard visited wholesale markets to evaluate the impact of the ban. In the central areas of Sadar Bazar and Chandni Chowk markets, there are shops equipped with green crackers (which are also banned in Delhi). In the back alleys, touts are heard luring customers with the promise of “real crackers”.

“Batao kya chahiye, sutli bomb hai, chahiye?” (What do you want? Would you like sutli firecracker?), calls out a teenage boy.

A cracker seller near Jama Masjid says, “Traders have brought the material so they will sell it, no matter what. There is still a huge demand.” He adds that even in a wholesale market, small retailers have a lot of inventory. Traders and retailers are expecting bumper sales this Diwali, after a lull of two years of Covid-induced lockdown and muted celebrations.

The difficulty in differentiating between a green and a conventional cracker has made it hard for the authorities to nab sellers. A policeman doing the rounds in South West Delhi’s Munirka says that the packaging mentions green crackers even when they are not. “There is no way to ascertain if it is actually green,” he adds.

Across Delhi, from public parks to roads, firecrackers were already bursting in several places on Sunday.

In neighbouring Haryana, manufacture, sale and bursting of green firecrackers is permitted while there is no clear directive in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, yet. Firecrackers brought into Delhi from adjoining parts of the NCR aren’t uncommon. In the AAP-ruled Punjab, the government has given a two-hour window to burn crackers on Diwali.

Last year in Delhi, between September 28 and November 4, 210 cases were registered and 143 people were arrested for bursting crackers. Around 19,700 kg of firecrackers were seized and 138 people were also arrested for selling and supplying firecrackers.

How green can NCR’s Diwali be?

Green firecrackers were designed to cause less harm to the environment, and reduce health risks for humans. Unlike traditional firecrackers, they do not use harmful chemicals such as aluminium, barium, potassium nitrate or carbon dioxide. But environment experts feel availability of green crackers in Delhi will have little impact on the city’s pollution levels because of no restriction in the adjoining states. Suman Mor, chairperson, Department of Environment Studies, Punjab University, says: “Pollution in Punjab and Haryana will impact Delhi. A complete ban on crackers is the only solution ahead.”

The Supreme Court on October 14 refused to grant an urgent listing of a plea praying for a nationwide ban on firecrackers. Chief Justice of India U U Lalit, while hearing the plea remarked that an injunction on firecrackers this close to Diwali would lead to severe losses as many people would have already invested in the business.

According to reports, the firecracker industry is estimated to have an annual turnover of over Rs 4,800 crore from 2,200 big and small factories in India that employ over five lakh people in manufacturing units directly and another four lakh indirectly.

Another trouble brewing for the NCR is the increase in stubble burning cases coinciding with the Diwali week. According to the Indian Agricultural Research Institute’s real-time monitoring of paddy residue burning events, 5,005 fire counts were recorded in five paddy-growing states — Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi — from September 15 to October 22, as against 7,790 cases recorded during the same period last year.