Swadeshi Jagaran Manch, an affiliate of RSS has strongly opposed the complete ban on firecrackers by the Delhi administration during Diwali, which it said is "inappropriate and aimed at hurting the sentiments", besides causing a blow to the employment of millions of workers and others engaged in the production and distribution of firecrackers across the country.
In a statement, it said it had urged other state governments to avoid a complete ban on firecrackers on the occasion of Deepawali, bypassing what is termed as "false propaganda" in terms of the ill effects of firecrackers.
"For some time, without any factual information, governments have been taking action like banning all types of firecrackers on the occasion of Diwali, which is completely inappropriate and unscientific and an attack on the sentiments of people," it said in the statement on Saturday.
"We need to know that pollution caused by firecrackers was primarily due to illegally imported firecrackers from China and not the green crackers of India. It's notable that there has been pollution due to the mixing of potassium nitrate and sulfur in Chinese firecrackers."
"However, in green (pollution-free) firecrackers made in India today potassium nitrate and sulfur are not mixed; other pollutants such as aluminium, lithium, arsenic and mercury etc. have been reduced to the minimum."
These green firecrackers, it claimed in the statement, are certified by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, adding that it's scientifically proven that green crackers cause 30 per cent less pollution.
Since the Union government has imposed an effective ban on Chinese firecrackers, it is completely unfair to impose a blanket ban on all types of firecrackers on Deepawali on the occasion of Delhi.
"We must know the fact that the livelihoods of more than one million people depend on the firecracker industry."
It said one should not forget that in Tamil Nadu (Sivakasi), West Bengal and many other parts of the country, the livelihoods of more than one million people depend on the firecracker industry. Throughout the year, these people wait for Deepawali to sell their firecrackers.
In such a situation, the statement said it is not prudent to ban green firecrackers without any scientific basis which are much less polluting.
"It's a matter of great regret that government agencies have failed to solve the problem of stubble burning in various parts of the country including Punjab, Haryana and Delhi. It's proven without a doubt that stubble burning remains the biggest source of air pollution in the national capital and surrounding northern states, and on the occasion of Dipawali they try to misguide people, by focusing on banning firecrackers, diverting attention from the real cause of pollution," the statement added.
Thus, it requested all state governments to make efforts to find a permanent solution to the problem of pollution that emanates from stubble burning.
( With inputs from ANI )
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