As per the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), this year, Navi Mumbai witnessed a quieter Diwali compared to the last two years. Activists claims that awareness among residents about the ill-effects of fire crackers, not only on humans but also on pets, led to the decrease in the decibel count this year.
“ Even a common man from Navi Mumbai would have realised that this year, the intensity of bursting crackers was much less than last year. Last year, the pollution was immense. It was difficult even to sit in the home,” the President of Save Mangroves and Navi Mumbai Existence (SAMNE), Sukumar Killedar, said.
The MPCB is yet to compile a report on air quality, however, activists believe that this too would to be better than that of last year. “Since the intensity of crackers have gone low, it’s expected that air quality too would have been better than last year. It’s good to see that people [are] getting more sensitive about the issues pertaining to pollution. People have to understand that environment is not only for the activists and the MPCB officials... we have to safeguard [the environment] for our future generations,” Mr. Killedar said.
This year, the average decibel recorded on the first day of Diwali was 73.72 as compared to 75.9 recorded last year from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. On the second day it was 70.8 compared to 74.8 , and 66.2 as against 74.4 on the third day of the festival. The average of all three days in 2014 was 74.96, and 75.93 in 2015, while this year it was 70.24.
“The records show that it was the quietest Diwali in last three years and the main reason behind it is the awareness among the people. We had spread messages among the residents via T.V. ads and radio ads. We hope we see more drop next year,” the Regional officer of MPCB, Navi Mumbai, A.D. Mohekar, said.
The writer is a freelance journalist
