With the growing campaigns against firecrackers, this year, the sale went down by 20 percent. But that is not enough to prevent Delhi's air from turning into a deadly thundercloud-grey. So, now a petition asking for a ban on firecrackers is doing the rounds. Over 14,000 people have already signed the petition.
Akshay Gaur, who started the petition on Change.org seeking a ban on firecrackers for the well being of the 'future generation' said that "we don't realize what harm we're doing to the environment."
The day after Diwali, Delhi's air measured 999 on the Air Quality Index. It is considered safe to breathe at 150.
The petition notes a few statistics too. According to it, the Particulate Matter (PM) 2.5 in Delhi went up to 999 in the US Embassy area and 702 in Anand Vihar just a day after Diwali on Momday. In R K Puram, PM 2.5 went up to 643 micrograms which is almost ten times the safe limit of 60 micrograms per cubic metres.
"We urge not only the responsible authorities but also ourselves, the people, to put a ban on crackers for a safe future and not be so selfish to realise what harm we are doing to those who aren't even part of this all," says the petition.
The petition will be sent to the Delhi government, the Central Pollution Control Board Of India (CPCB) and the government of India.
Will this petition be able to make a difference?
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