This Diwali the capital of India is barred from bursting firecrackers

Last year, the air pollution in Delhi-NCR reached alarming rates so much so that schools were forced to close and people complained of children suffering from breathing problems and health concerns related to pollution.  This year, a week ahead of Diwali, the Supreme Court has temporarily banned selling firecrackers that otherwise are sold like hot cakes around this time especially in the capital region.

Meanwhile, the US Embassy has reportedly shown that Delhi has hit new records of unhealthy quality of air and firecrackers are known to make it worse with fumes and smoke rising up in the air, making it all the more difficult to even breathe a whiff of fresh, clean air. In 2016, face masks were being sold too to avoid breathing polluted air that was at its record worst in the past 20 years, reports Reuters.

The ban that has already been implemented will stretch till November 1 as the season for fireworks in Delhi-NCR extends till the end of Guru Nanak’s birthday that is usually within a month of Diwali.

The number of vehicles on the roads of the capital have also been claimed to have reached record proportions as families have multiple number of vehicles and members of one family prefer to travel in different cars, adding fuel to the fire.

Coupled with this striking air pollution issues is the arrival of smog that hots thew capital during the months of October-November, making it nearly impossible to see anything outside or breathe fresh air even in the wee hours of the morning.

The Hindu reports that the Supreme Court judges are attempting a test run on the capital trying to see how a Diwali without fireworks helps the air quality to improve.

However, the decision did not go well with some Twitteratis who believe banning crackers on Diwali resembles celebrating Christmas without Christmas tree. Chetan Bhagat and Virender Sehwag were seemingly offended with the SC’s judgment and denounced the move. Bhagat took to a series of tweets to express his disapproval of the order.

On the other hand, there were others including cricketer Yuvraj Singh who posted their agreement of the court’s decision:

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