NEW DELHI, INDIA, October 29, 2008: This year’s festival of lights this year is a quieter affair than usual. The police issued fewer licenses to firecracker vendors and came down heavily on their illegal sale, and as a result crackers are not that readily available in the city. Environmentalists foresee a significant dip in the noise and pollution levels on Diwali night.
The Delhi Police’s licensing department issued about 1,000 licenses this year, compared to about 5,000 that are normally given out. Firecrackers have also become almost 40% more expensive than last year, both due to the shortage and rising costs of raw material.
Many are happy with the trend. “Bursting crackers is not the only way of celebrating Diwali. In the fun of things, nobody realized the highly harmful impact crackers have on health, specially those of children and people with breathing problems. Each year, air and noise pollution levels were going up unimaginably high, harming not only human beings but also animals,” said a senior government official in the environment department.