Kangana Ranaut on firecrackers: The debate over whether to burst firecrackers or not during Diwali has once again ensued, keeping in mind the rise in air pollution across various cities in India. Actor Kangana Ranaut, however, took to social media to oppose the ban on Diwali crackers, asking "environment activists" to walk to their work instead, in order to strike a balance.
The Thalaivii actor reshared a video of spiritual leader Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev in which he speaks about letting 'children burst crackers' on Instagram. She shared the video in her Instagram stories, with the caption, "He is the man who caused world record of green cover by planting millions of trees. Perfect answer to all Diwali environment activists walk to your office don't use cars for three days."
In the shared video, Sadghuru says, "concern about air pollution is not a reason to prevent kids from experiencing the joy of firecrackers," further referring to the people advocating ban on bursting crackers, he asks them to walk to the office for three days and let the children enjoy.
Concern about air pollution is not a reason to prevent kids from experiencing the joy of firecrackers. As your sacrifice for them, walk to your office for 3 days. Let them have the fun of bursting crackers. -Sg #Diwali #DontBanCrackers pic.twitter.com/isrSZCQAec
— Sadhguru (@SadhguruJV) November 3, 2021
Although in the video, Sadhguru confesses that he has not lit firecrackers for a few years now, but as a child, he would start dreaming of doing so since the month of September. "...we will save the crackers and keep on doing them for every day," he concludes.
The Calcutta High Court had imposed a blanket ban on firecrackers in West Bengal this year but it was set aside by the Supreme Court of India on November 2. According to the SC judgement, the sale of green crackers is allowed in areas with "good" or "moderate" air quality.
Even the Mayor of Mumbai, Kishori Pednekar, while acknowledging that firecrackers are "integral" to the festival of Diwali, appealed to the citizens to keep a check on the noise and air pollution while bursting crackers on November 2.
Rhea Kapoor, the producer of popular Hindi film Veere Di Wedding, too criticised the activity of burning crackers on Diwali in an Instagram story, writing, "Bursting crackers are not just date but also grossly ignorant, inconsiderate and irresponsible. Stop doing it, it's so 19-never."
On November 2, ahead of Diwali, the air quality in Delhi for the first time in the season was declared under the "very poor" category by the Central Pollution Control Board. The score is 303 in the overall air quality index (AQI). The neighbouring cities are not faring well on the list either- AQI for Faridabad is 306, Ghaziabad is 334 and Noida is also 303. Ideally, AQI should be at or below 100.
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