Delhi govt to take up intense campaign against firecrackers

NEW DELHI: The Delhi government's Environment department has said that it will start a strong 'anti-firecracker campaign' this month.

The campaign, proposed by Delhi Environment minister Imran Hussain, will focus on sensitising the general public about ill-effects of bursting firecrackers.

The minister chaired a meeting with top officials regarding the plan of the campaign on Tuesday. He asserted that the aim of this initiative would be to reach as many as people possible.

Hussain directed officials to form a special team which will spearhead the campaign. The special team for the campaign would comprise of top officials and environmentalists.

This time, the campaign would especially focus on school students and include them in various environmental initiatives.

A source in the government said that the minister directed officials to reach out to all government schools with this campaign.

"We will tell people about how the environment gets damaged due to the use of fire crackers," an official said.

The initiative will also give special attention to the problem of noise pollution caused by firecrackers.

Earlier, the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) had issued a guideline on the use of firecrackers in the city. The Environment department noted that after Diwali, pollution levels in the city increase drastically, causing various health problems to the citizens.

The initiative will be aimed at making citizens aware of the hazards surrounding firecrackers and, in turn, help them to control pollution levels.

While observing that the department undertakes such campaigns every year, officials said that the minister wanted a more organised and stronger campaign keeping in mind last year's pollution problem after Diwali.

Hussain also reviewed the status of strengthening of ambient air monitoring network. It was informed by senior officers of DPCC that the work for installation of 20 ambient air quality monitoring stations is in an advanced stage and these stations will likely be completed by October.

Data from these stations will be available in public domain online, on a real time basis.