Nashikites aim for a cracker-free Diwali

NASHIK: The city is likely to be a tiny bit closer to a cracker-free Diwali this year, with people across the city deciding again bursting fireworks and finding others ways to celebrate.
"Who wants to burst crackers when there are so many other ways to have fun?," inquired 20-year-old Ronnie Mukherjee. "They cause noise and air pollution and they are so irritating.They also can be very dangerous. I once saw a little girl's eyes getting hurt," he recalled.
Mukherkee is looking forward to the cultural performances at his society during Kali Puja. "We are going to decorate the pandal beautifully and on the second day we will host activities for kids and have a cultural dance performance. I am going to dance too," he said.
For Gunjan Sugandhi, who is pursuing post graduation in Mumbai, the Diwali homecoming is going to be about sharing stories with her little cousins. "In my few months in Mumbai, I have learnt so much about the customs and rituals that people have across different cultures. For one, my North Indians friends told me about Vishwakarma Din. It is celebrated the day after Diwali in the name of Vishwakarma, the god of architecture and engineering. They perform a puja on all their tools and weapons too. I can't wait to share all the stories I have heard with my family," said the 22-year-old student. Crackers are a definite no-no for the environmentally conscious Sugandhi.
According to Mohammed Dilawar, apart from causing air pollution, crackers also harm birds and other animals. "These birds and animals have a superior sense of hearing. Small birds tend to abandon their nests, they lose their way home and some are so badly affected that it stunts their growth," he said. Apart from shunning crackers, Dilawar is prompting people to take a step further. "Every year during Diwali, people spend thousands on crackers and gifts and so on. This time I hope they will keep the environment in mind and gift bird feeders," he said.
Social worker Jagbir Singh is running an awareness campaign across the city against the use of crackers. "Did you know that 85,000 children are employed at fireworks factories across Tamil Nadu and Karnataka?" he enquired. The activist is completely against bursting firecrackers not only because they are harmful for the environment and are a noisy nuisance, but also because of the child labour involved in producing them.
"Think of it this way. You are not just burning crackers, you are burning their childhood," he asserted.
"Although the pollution control board checks for sound limits, they don't care about anything else. Especially not how the crackers were made," he added. He is urging Nashikites not to ignore the situation and is running an awareness drive against the use of crackers. "At least every one should know how these crackers are made. Then if they decide to burst them, it is their call," he said.
Singh is also appealing to Nashikites to think of the underprivileged this Diwali, the time of giving. "On next Monday, we will have a stall at a city mall where people can make donations to orphanages near Nashik," he said.