Highlighting the ills of lighting fireworks, Tree Trust and other NGOs jointly organised awareness programmes for ‘Smoke- Free Deepavali’ for the 10th year. M. Yoganathan of Tree Trust said that they distributed more than 20,000 pamphlets to students in 51 schools. The programme began with a briefing on the ills of fireworks for them and the environment. Chemical smoke emanated by crackers cause cancer and breathing difficulty in humans, apart from injuries caused in accidents. “Coimbatore is a city with lakes and tanks. They attract many migratory birds that will be frightened by lighting fireworks,” he said.
After distributing pamphlets, the students were asked to spread the message to their neighbourhood. Mr. Yoganathan said that the campaign had been successful as many students had started celebrating the festival without fireworks. The other organisations took part in the campaign are Bamboo Trust, Tamil Nadu Green Movement, Coimbatore Wetland Association and Chittukuruvi Pathukapu Amaipu.
Udhagamandalam
More than 200 students of CSI CMM Higher Secondary School in Udhagamandalam took a pledge to minimise the use of fireworks during Deepavali to protect the fragile ecosystem of The Nilgiris.
The students were informed of the dangers posed to the environment by fireworks, and also of their impact on wildlife and domestic animals by V. Sivadass, managing trustee of the Nilgiri Environment and Cultural Service Trust. Some of the students promised that they won’t light any fireworks, while the others promised to minimise their use. Principal Esther Vasanthi was present at the awareness rally, which was held at Davis Park in Ooty.
