Meet the woman behind the ban on firecrackers this Diwali, Haripriya Padmanabhan

Environmentalists concerned about the rising levels of air pollution can heave a sigh of relief now as Supreme Court has ordered a temporary ban on the sale of firecrackers in New Delhi. The measure is aimed at reducing the obnoxious pollution levels in the city.They can be bought only after November 1.

But do you know who is the woman behind this landmark decision?

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Haripriya Padmanabhan is the lawyer representing the group that sought the ban. SheThePeople.TV spoke to her about this landmark announcement.

"Our petition had been pending for the last two years since 2015 in Supreme Court. And we initially asked for a ban on firecrackers but that didn't happen. Last year, after the situation in Delhi went really bad after Diwali, we again filed a petition saying that now we have empirical data and Delhi is really choking. Thereafter, Supreme Court gave us a full ban on sale of firecrackers in Delhi. Unfortunately, due to the applications filed by manufacturers, this ban was lifted temporarily. Again we went back to the court requesting for a modification and it has now been modified."

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She further added that she is hoping that with this ban, the 2.5 PM level in Delhi will be much less this year.

Children's petition

"We are the most vulnerable category when it comes to air pollution, especially from suspended particles and toxins. We are foremost prone to lung disease, asthma, coughing, bronchitis, retarded development of the nervous system and cognitive impairment," the children's petition had argued, referring to the fundamental Right to Life.

The ban, though temporary, is definitely a concrete step to tackle the conundrum of noise and environmental pollution.

Also Read: We deserve a city with clean air says Elsamarie DSilva