In a scene dripping with irony, several Delhiites were seen wearing masks while bursting firecrackers in the Capital on the occasion of Diwali on Wednesday.
The festival of lights ended on a smoggy note as people chose to flout the Supreme Court order directing everyone to burst firecrackers only for two hours, between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m., on Diwali (Wednesday).
“I saw a bunch of people wearing masks while bursting crackers,” said Neelam Bagha, a resident of Dwarka.
Many said they were disappointed as people paid no heed to the SC’s order, while others said that these restrictions were not strong enough. “It is impossible to monitor such a large population. Although, the police has tried to implement the verdict strictly, but they only became active very close to Diwali, which did not serve any purpose. Many people got crackers other than ‘green crackers’ from outside NCR and then burst them in Delhi. The SC should have implemented the concept of green crackers in time, not right before Diwali,” said Gagan Gera, a resident of Moti Nagar.
‘Ban is better’
“I did not believe that the verdict would work. People do not understand restrictions. A ban would have been better,” said Vidhu Goel, a resident of Rohini.
“People were bursting crackers while wearing masks. Stupidity knows no levels,” Rohini resident Nipun Chadha said, adding that such people were aware that the air is not too fit to breathe directly but still chose to burst crackers.
