Bursting Crackers After 10 PM Is Irresponsible Behaviour: Ashish Sood
National Desk: Delhi Home Minister Ashish Sood on Tuesday said that those who burst firecrackers after 10 PM on Diwali night behaved in an “irresponsible manner.” However, the minister emphasized that firecrackers were not the sole reason for the rise in pollution levels in the national capital.
Speaking to a media agency, Sood said, “People of Delhi should have strictly followed the Supreme Court’s guidelines, which allowed the bursting of crackers only until 10 PM. Celebrating the festival by violating the court’s time limit was an act of irresponsibility.”
Recently, the Supreme Court lifted the ban on the sale and use of green firecrackers approved by the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) in Delhi-NCR. The top court permitted their use from 6 AM to 7 AM and 8 PM to 10 PM on October 19 and 20.
Sood further informed that the Air Quality Index (AQI) in East Delhi’s Anand Vihar reached 943, while in Shahdara, it was around 390 on Tuesday morning. “Residents of Delhi woke up to dense smog and low visibility,” he added.
After people continued bursting crackers well beyond the two-hour permitted window on Diwali night, the city’s air quality deteriorated to “hazardous levels.” According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) bulletin, Delhi’s AQI was 359 at 11 AM, which falls under the “very poor” category. The AQI was 352 at 8 AM, 346 at 5 AM, 347 at 6 AM, and 351 at 7 AM.
As per the AQI classification:
- 0–50: Good
- 51–100: Satisfactory
- 101–200: Moderate
- 201–300: Poor
- 301–400: Very Poor
- 401–500: Severe
Out of the 38 monitoring stations in the national capital, 35 were in the red zone, indicating “very poor” to “severe” air quality.
Sood appealed to all citizens to celebrate festivals responsibly by following the Supreme Court’s directions and to support the Delhi government in increasing green cover and cleanliness so that the city does not face similar environmental issues again.
