Cleaner, quieter Diwali in 5 yrs

Tribune News Service 

Chandigarh, October 20 

The restrictions imposed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on bursting of crackers brought a huge relief to the city residents this Diwali with the levels of air and noise pollution seeing a steep decline, the lowest in five years.

As per the Chandigarh Pollution Control Committee (CPCC), air pollution reduced to half this year as compared with the pollution level recorded on Diwali last year. 

PJS Dadwal, member secretary, CPCC, said the decrease in pollution could be because of the restrictions imposed by the High Court and awareness among people about ill-effects of bursting crackers.

The court had fixed a three-hour slot for bursting of crackers on Diwali and also directed the administration to reduce the numbers of temporary licences to sell crackers to 20 per cent of what were issued last year. 

The CPCC observed the noise and air pollution levels at three places — Sectors 22, 29 and 17 — on Diwali day and a week before. 

The respirable suspended particulate matter (RSPM) level was recorded at 169 microgram per cubic metre (µg/m3) this year in Sector 22 in comparison with 316 µg/m3 last year. In Sector 29, it was 172 µg/m3 this year against 330 µg/m3 last year. The RSPM level in Sector 17 was 225 µg/m3 last year, which fell to 97 µg/m3 this year.

The noise levels at the three locations also saw a fall. Between 9 pm and 10 pm, it was recorded at 84.8 decibel (dB) in Sector 22 this year against 86.3 dB last year. The situation was no different at the other two locations. The noise level was recorded 80.5 dB in Sector 29 last year; it was 72.7 dB this year. In Sector 17, the noise level was recorded at 68.8 dB last year. It fell to 62.3 dB this year. 

The last four Diwali days saw a continuous rise in the air and noise pollution levels.