Come Diwali , and India lights up.
People rush to shop, to dress up . To meet their loved ones, worship the holy and seek blessings from elders.. Does that cover it all, No.
The thing that all youngsters and children associate with the festival of Light - Firecrackers .
Lo and behold, the wonder. The sudden explosion of sound ( rather noise ) . The onslaught of colors and sadly - injuries. Year after year we see that everywhere kids and some adults too enjoy bursting crackers . However have we become so inhumane , so immune to human suffering that we fail to see that the very hands that burst these so called "instruments of enjoyment" are akin to the hands who are forced to leave school , forced to forego their childhood , forego the games , forego the joy and laughter to make such objects.
The arrival of Diwali brings with it the usual reports of raids on Cracker Factories in our dailies . Yet how is it that we can totally forget the pain , the suffering of the innocent minors and make our happiness depend on the very thing which is a bane for the tots. How is that we can display this alacrity ? How can we spend thousands of rupees on such fatuous things , when in our own country more than 40% of its citizens earn less than 60 rupees a day and are unable to afford a basic meal , a rudimentary two time square meal for their kin.
According to People or the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), a Non Profit Organization awareness should be created for the masses. People need to understand that bursting firecrackers is not trendy anymore . It is important for the government to organize anti - firecracker campaigns and discourage people from bursting firecrackers. Parents as well as children must be educated on the harmful effects and environmental laws should be implemented strictly.
Due to such efforts , slowly the number of people bursting crackers has gone down , but not vanished altogether. The effects are still there to be seen, especially in Northern India . The awareness has increased , but not to the desired level.
Let each one of us thus take a pledge this Diwali to say NO to firecrackers and invest in a safer and greener future. Diwali is the festival of lights and we must enlighten our lives with the sparkle of joy and goodwill, forget past grievances and look ahead towards a brighter and happier future.
Are we really so apathetic ?
Can Diwali not be just a Festival of Lights as it is supposed to me, instead of an Onslaught of Noise ?
People rush to shop, to dress up . To meet their loved ones, worship the holy and seek blessings from elders.. Does that cover it all, No.
The thing that all youngsters and children associate with the festival of Light - Firecrackers .
Lo and behold, the wonder. The sudden explosion of sound ( rather noise ) . The onslaught of colors and sadly - injuries. Year after year we see that everywhere kids and some adults too enjoy bursting crackers . However have we become so inhumane , so immune to human suffering that we fail to see that the very hands that burst these so called "instruments of enjoyment" are akin to the hands who are forced to leave school , forced to forego their childhood , forego the games , forego the joy and laughter to make such objects.
Not only this , but also the fact that so many young minds of this nation are lost in explosions in such factories , lost are young innocent lives to diseases caused by handling such toxic chemicals daily .
Why cannot we teach our young ones , the children who like bursting crackers the meaning of humanity , the lesson of compassion . Tell them the detriments of purchasing such pathetic objects. Can we not equip them with the own thing that today's man lacks - Compassion .
The above fact just encompasses the encouragement of child labour effects of Firecrackers . Not to forget the environmental damage of it , the smog , the noise it causes. The damage to patients of Asthma , to students studying for their exams , to pregnant mothers and even to animals .
People in India are well aware of the terrible effects of firecrackers both to the environment and health. Yet, turning a blind eye, parents are encouraging their children to burst crackers by spending thousands on them. Are they so unconcerned about the hazards of crackers or plain dumb? For people from both categories, here are the ill-effects of crackers:
Air-Pollution: Even during non-Diwali time, pollution is on an all-time high with smog (smoke + fog) visible almost everywhere. So, it is shuddering to even imagine the level of pollution during Diwali with lakhs of people indulging in firecrackers!
Health Hazards: As it is, the health scenario in Mumbai is becoming poorer each year. Number of Asthama and cardiac (heart) patients are continuing to increase. Headache and cough have become a daily affair for many. Wouldn’t such a high increase of harmful smoke during Diwali worsen the situation? Just imagine the state of cardiac and asthama patients when they are forced to inhale the poisonous smoke! What about the people who get burns , who lose their eyes, their ears due to the noise
Noise Effect: What pleasure do people derive with the maddening noise of such high decibel crackers? I read about a man dying because of heart attack caused due to the ridiculously high noise of a cracker! There could be many more such cases!
Hell for Animals: For animals, the situation is even worse. The noise and pollution can be hell for them as it also creates high amount of panic amongst them. Spare a thought for the poor creatures!
According to People or the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), a Non Profit Organization awareness should be created for the masses. People need to understand that bursting firecrackers is not trendy anymore . It is important for the government to organize anti - firecracker campaigns and discourage people from bursting firecrackers. Parents as well as children must be educated on the harmful effects and environmental laws should be implemented strictly.
Due to such efforts , slowly the number of people bursting crackers has gone down , but not vanished altogether. The effects are still there to be seen, especially in Northern India . The awareness has increased , but not to the desired level.
Let each one of us thus take a pledge this Diwali to say NO to firecrackers and invest in a safer and greener future. Diwali is the festival of lights and we must enlighten our lives with the sparkle of joy and goodwill, forget past grievances and look ahead towards a brighter and happier future.
Are we really so apathetic ?
Can Diwali not be just a Festival of Lights as it is supposed to me, instead of an Onslaught of Noise ?
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