Holi revellers, especially children have been advised to abstain from spraying chemical colours while celebrating Holi as they result in dangerous consequences including permanent impairment.
Mahabubabad-based NGO, Disha founder and environment activist Voore Gurunadha Rao said colours sold for the festival contain hazardous toxics which would cause skin and respiratory diseases and impair vision in some cases. The Holi revellers innocently throw coloured water from Pichkaari (a traditional device to spray coloured water from a distance keeping oneself safe) and smear gulal (coloured powder) at each other.
Cheap materials
These colours contain cheap materials like mica, acids, alkali, pieces of glass which result in skin disorders like abrasion, irritation, itching but also impair vision, cause respiratory problems and also cancer, he explained.
The Holi celebration is linked closely with the nature. The colours of Holi is akin to that of flowers in spring.
Earlier, the colours were made from flowers, roots and herbs. These colours worked as softeners for the winter dried skin but now synthetic ingredients are used for the purpose.
The plants from which these colours were derived were endowed with therapeutic values and had some sacred value also. Forgetting the gifts of nature, people now found synthetic and toxic substitutes to traditional colours, which not only harm their health but are also hazardous to nature.
Mr Gurunadha Rao further said the Gentian violet was most widely used colour concentrate during Holi. But its innocuous concentrate could cause skin discolouration, dermatitis, develop skin allergy or irritation of the mucous membrane.
“It is very toxic and can lead to kerato conjunctivitis and dark purple staining of the cornea,” he said.
