Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had banned the use and sale of firecrackers before Diwali, but this policy is difficult to implement.
The capital’s revelers set off large amounts of fireworks on Sunday morning, prompting angry residents and environmentalists to complain of difficulty breathing and stinging eyes on social media.
Vimalandu Jha, founder of the non-profit environmental group Svechha, said, “Our gods should be very happy today, as their followers burst firecrackers and put young people to despair and death.”
Some defended firecrackers as an essential part of the religious tradition celebrated by millions of people across the country.
Tarun Vijay, a leader of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, tweeted, “Do you feel how all over India stood up against banning firecrackers everywhere? It’s a tone of the Hindu-freedom struggle . “
New Delhi’s air pollution generally worsens in October and November as farmers burn agricultural waste, coal-fired power plants, traffic and windless days.
With more than 400,000 cases in a city of 20 million people, the raging coronovirus epidemic has also raised alarm on the smog. Doctors have warned of a sharp increase in respiratory diseases.
According to data from the Central Pollution Control Board, the average air quality index measured at various locations within major cities in these states was higher than last year.
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