Breathing change: Citizens who are cutting out firecrackers for an eco-friendly Diwali

MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court’s order banning bursting firecrackers in public places prompted the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Saturday to rope in 237 corporators to spread awareness about the harmful effects of bursting firecrackers in slums and densely populated neighbourhoods amidst concerns over rising air and noise pollution during Diwali. On Saturday, the city’s overall air quality index stood at 108, indicating moderate category.

Sumaira Abdulali, of Awaaz Foundation, also wrote to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis stating that the government’s primary responsibility lies in protecting the health of citizens, and to personally ensure that no crackers are burst which do not conform with all conditions set out under the Environment (Protection) Act and HC orders.

Taking note of HC order, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Park Residents Welfare Association ALM has appealed to residents to keep the ground free of fireworks this year. In a letter to the local police station and ward office, the association said the ground faces noise and air pollution every year due to firecrackers, affecting residents, particularly senior citizens. It also sought action against those violating the rules. Following the request, the ward office put up warning boards around the ground and police protection was provided.

Meanwhile, several schools, residential societies and environmental groups are going an extra mile to promote a firecracker-free Diwali, while the state government has also asked schools to take a pledge for an eco-friendly Diwali and encourage students to celebrate festivals without harming the environment. HT spoke to some of the changemakers.

A carnival that puts the brakes on crackers

Residents of Sky Forest, a two-tower luxe residential complex in Lower Parel, came together on Saturday for a carnival, a significant part of which focused on encouraging children to rethink the use of firecrackers through games and interactive activities.

The carnival featured 18 to 20 stalls, with games designed to engage children while introducing them to the harmful effects of firecrackers on living beings and the environment.

Dr Bhavna Jain, an ophthalmologist and one of the organisers, said the idea was to communicate the message in a manner that children would find enjoyable and easy to understand.

In one of the activities children were shown a word on a card and asked to immediately say the first word that came to mind. When presented with the word ‘firecrackers’, most responded with ‘noise’, while the phrase ‘air around us’ prompted responses such as ‘haze’. Several other activities were also organised around contemporary concerns of air and noise pollution.

Another activity, a ring game, incorporated questions on whether firecrackers affected air quality and whether children had ever suffered injuries from them. The games were followed by brainstorming sessions in which there was a discussion on the issues raised.

Around 40 children, along with other residents, participated in the carnival.

“We wanted to communicate the message just before Diwali, so that children think twice before bursting crackers. We explained the effect of fire crackers on all the living beings,” Jain said.

Resident Payal Shah, 45, said the activities prompted children to look at firecrackers differently.

“After playing the games, the children understood that firecrackers are nothing more than burning resources and polluting the environment. They also contribute to the deterioration of air quality, at a time when the city is already choking with pollution. The children responded positively and showed logical reasoning when discussing the points raised through the games,” she said.

Trading fireworks to fund drought-hit kids’ education

The idea of a firecracker-free Diwali at Gandhi Bal Mandir, an aided Marathi-medium school in Kurla, started with a simple question.

Soon after schools reopened following the Covid-19 pandemic, the school’s English teacher Jaywant Kulkarni asked students how much money they had spent on firecrackers during Diwali.

A quick calculation revealed a collective expenditure of ₹65,000. Kulkarni took the opportunity to explain that Diwali could be celebrated with equal joy without firecrackers, reminding the students how people had celebrated a pollution-free Diwali during the pandemic.

Other teachers of the school also sensitised them about the harmful effects of firecrackers, encouraging them to think about how the money could be put to better use.

The students warmed up to the idea and the school has been promoting a firecracker-free Diwali since 2022. This year, around 100 NCC cadets from the school will collect money to provide food and educational materials to children in drought-hit areas.

“We want them to understand the importance of sharing happiness and helping others,” said Vishwanath Panchal, NCC coordinator.

According to Kulkarni, the biggest impact of the initiative was that many former students still avoid firecrackers. “Some of them tell us that the school helped them develop a good habit, which they continue to follow even after leaving school,” he said.

Joy of sharing with the underprivileged

The Dgyandeep Seva Mandal Primary School in Karave village, Panvel, has been spreading happiness among girls living at Swapnalaya, a children’s home in the suburb, for the last 16 years.

It all started when the school’s late teacher Bhavana Bankat Tandel started the tradition with the belief that festive happiness becomes more meaningful when shared with others. Over the years, the initiative has brought together teachers, students, parents, members of the institution and well-wishers, who collectively contribute to make the festival special for the girls at the children’s home.

As part of this year’s celebration, instead of spending on firecrackers, the school provided food grains and gifts to the girls. The Bhavana Foundation also donated a water cooler to the home. Through this initiative, the recipients also understand the meaning of kindness, sharing and social responsibility.

“Madam started this initiative with the thought that Diwali happiness should reach people who are deprived of it. We have continued her tradition for the past 16 years. Through this act, we want our students to understand that happiness increases when we share it with others,” said Haresh Tandel, a teacher of the school.

Saving up for fort visits

The SSM Shivaji Vidyalaya, run by the Shivaji Shikshanottejak Mandal, in Kalachowki, has been promoting an eco-friendly Diwali among its students for the past two years. Along with encouraging them to stay away from firecrackers, it has been using the opportunity to spread awareness about the history and preservation of forts built during the reign of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

As part of the initiative, students are encouraged to save the money they would otherwise have spent on firecrackers and use it to visit historic hill forts. The idea was conceptualised by the institution’s director, Adhiraj Rajan Lokegaonkar, to help children understand the importance of protecting the state’s historical heritage, and inculcate a sense of responsibility and pride in its preservation among students.

“We want children to understand that Diwali can be celebrated responsibly without bursting firecrackers,” said principal Kishor Teli.

A changed Diwali, thanks to a pet

There was a time when Diwali was all about bursting firecrackers for Sapna Parmar, 54, an advertising professional. Her parents spent lakhs on crackers when she was a child, which she would burst for hours. The ones that soared into the sky, illuminating the entire skyline, were her favourites.

“I was a firecracker maniac. I loved the sound, the aura and the reflections they created. I didn’t like the smaller firecrackers I loved only the big ones,” she said.

Her relationship with firecrackers, however, changed with the arrival of Kiki, her family’s first pet puppy. Two years ago, with the pup still settling in, when she went downstairs to burst crackers in the building complex, the alarmed house help rushed to tell her that the pup was running about in the house in distress.

“We couldn’t understand what went wrong. Unsure, I took him to the vet, who asked if the dog had been exposed to any loud sounds. I told her that I was the only one bursting crackers. She explained that the noise had caused his reaction,” Parmar recalled.

She returned home and spent hours comforting the pet. “The distress led me to question the real meaning of the festival. I realised how the festival of lights had been reduced to that of firecrackers,” she said.

She decided a change of course that day, realising “what something I enjoyed so much could do to another living being”. “I never went back to bursting crackers anymore,” she said.

Three generations go cracker-free

What began as an effort to save water grew into a 30-year movement to promote an eco-friendly Diwali at Saraswati Vidyalaya, Thane, and through Jigyasa, a Thane-based social organisation.

Surendra Dighe, who heads the school management and Jigyasa, said the journey began in 1986 when they took up a drive against water pollution. The organisation built an artificial stone lake in a nearby village and observed the increase in water pollution during the Ganpati idol immersion. The team then started cleaning the water body and spread awareness about the importance of clean water among villagers.

They subsequently broadened the scope to combat air pollution, which led them to promote a firecracker-free Diwali.

“We realised that an awareness about a clean environment should not remain limited to discussions. It should become a part of children’s lives. We started with scientific projects on water pollution and gradually introduced activities to explain about environmental pollution to students,” said Dighe.

The school initiated the awareness with pre-primary students, with the belief that good habits must be inculcated early. Teachers also involved parents so that the idea could seamlessly flow between home and school. Today, three generations of students and families are carrying forwards this initiative.

“We have been successful in planting the seeds of eco-friendly Diwali celebrations across three generations. Seeing more youngsters celebrate without firecrackers gives us the greatest satisfaction,” he said.

“When I was in Class 5, my school used to conduct environment awareness activities during festivals such as Diwali, Holi and Ganeshotsav. Since then, I have never burst firecrackers in the last 20 years,” said Kalyani Somani, a Thane resident and former student of the school.

“We were taught about the impact of festivals on the environment very early – those lessons stayed with me. It took time for my family to accept a fire cracker-free Diwali, but thanks to the awareness, they eventually saw the virtue in the initiative. We have never brought firecrackers home since then,” she said. “Considering the current AQI of our city, everyone must become aware of the impact of their actions on the environment.”