Social media was abuzz with videos of people bursting firecrackers with impunity on Diwali in the national capital, defying a ban in place to curb pollution. The veracity of these videos could not independently verified.
The Arvind Kejriwal government had in September announced a complete ban on the production, sale and use of all types of firecrackers till January 1, 2023, including on Diwali, a practice it has been following for the last two years.
Sharing a clip, Punnet Bansal tweeted, "No Judges, Politicians, Dogs or Insects were harmed during the making of this video... Celebrated Diwali as it should be!! #DhuaHuaKejriwal #Diwali".
Another Twitter user Woke Pandemic, whose Twitter bio says "president of WhatsApp University", had shared a video of fireworks dotting the sky on Diwali on Monday. "Happy Diwali MiLords," read a post on the handle.
The hashtag 'DhuaHuaKejriwal' was used by many on Twitter to share videos of defying of the firecracker ban. Rishi Rajput, whose Twitter bio reads "nationalist, BJP workers", shared a video of bursting of fireworks and said, "Thank You Delhi for showing your courage to son of Aurangzeb."
Rosy, whose Twitter bio says that she is a lawyer, shared the video of a dog watching fireworks. "Sanghi Dog who loves crackers and enjoys watching them bl?st #DhuaHuaKejriwal," she said in a tweet. BJP leader Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga shared on social media several videos of people defying the firecracker ban on Diwali to take a dig at the Aam Aadmi Party government.Bagga, among several videos, shared on Twitter clips of a boy and some other people bursting firecrackers. He used the hashtag 'DhuaHuaKejriwal'.
Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Tuesday said the national capital saw a 30 per cent drop in incidents of bursting of firecrackers on Diwali this year as against last year and recorded its best air quality for the day after the festival in five years
The air quality index (AQI) stood at 323 on Tuesday (the day after Diwali) as compared to 462 last year, which means the "air pollution declined by over 30 per cent", he said. The minister said the AQI on the day after Diwali stood at 390 in 2018, 368 in 2019 and 435 in 2020.
"People of Delhi were very thoughtful on Diwali this year and I want to thank them. Today, the pollution level is the lowest in five years," Rai told reporters. An AQI between zero and 50 is considered 'good', 51 and 100 'satisfactory', 101 and 200 'moderate', 201 and 300 'poor', 301 and 400 'very poor', and 401 and 500 'severe'.
According to forecasting agencies, the air quality in Delhi on the morning after Diwali was recorded in the ''very poor'' category but the situation was relatively better than previous years due to favourable meteorological conditions which diluted the effect of firecrackers and stubble burning. The city is set to record its best air quality for the day after Diwali since 2015 on Tuesday, they said.
(With PTI inputs)
