Children of various schools in the Kolathur and Perambur neighbourhood came up with several reasons why they are going to reduce their lighting up of fireworks as part of their Deepavali celebration this year. The occasion was an oratorical and essay contest organized by the Science & Nature Club at Periyar Nagar Public Library. The Club’s anti-pollution campaign seeks to create awareness among people about the enormous pollution created during the Deepavali festival season.

Besides causing obvious health issues like asthma & lung diseases, eye irritation, allergic reactions, burn injuries, damage to ears, adverse effect on cardiac patients and old people and fire risk, the chemical perchlorate used in gunpowder inhibits thyroid’s ability to take up iodine, particularly making foetuses, infants and children vulnerable.

Naveen Kumar of Jaigopal Garodia Higher Secondary School (JGHSS) rues why when the Supreme Court is able to ban Jallikkattu for its ‘mistreatment of animals’ and ‘loss of human life’, a similar rationale is not being applied to the pressing problem of fireworks/crackers that cause so much damage to humans and animals exposed to these chemicals as well as create lasting adverse impact on the environment.

Burning and bursting of fireworks and firecrackers releases a huge load of toxic chemicals and gases into the air. These chemicals don’t take long in a rain to settle down on the soil and later seep into our water bodies. Not to mention the loud noise associated with these crackers. That’s every kind of pollution for you – air, soil, water and noise! Also fire accidents cause damage to property, body and life. Isn’t that reason enough to ban it or at least restrict it.

Lukitha of Srimathi Durgadevi Choudary Vivekananda Vidyalaya says it is an open secret that child labourers in Sivakasi, Tamilnadu are employed in the making of these crackers that bring fun to more privileged children in the other parts of the state and country. When we buy or burn a cracker, we are implicit in perpetuating this social injustice. Her schoolmate Lingeswaran agrees with her “the supply chain exists only because the demand for the ‘stuff’ exists”.

Ar. Sellam, also from the same school, is majorly concerned about the plight of conservancy workers who have to clean up the mess the fun-seekers create. The day after the D-day, these poor souls go about with bare hands cleaning the debris on the streets, exposing themselves to all sorts of dangerous chemicals that pose major hazard to their health. No wonder then that these sanitation workers succumb to drug abuse and lose their lives prematurely.

Logeswari of JGHSS was thankful this event has given her a pause to think about the hazards of using fireworks/crackers. She promises to steadily decrease her quota of burning and bursting every year. Noorjahan of Sri JRET Girls High School vows to celebrate Deepavali with her friend Lakshmi with reduced fireworks. Says Vakula, a 6^th standard participant from Thiruvanamalai “Festival pollution is a battle that belongs notjust to the government, rather it belongs to all of us. It is our responsibility to win it”.

All these and several more participants from the contest are aware that ‘bursting firecrackers and lighting fireworks’ has only become part of popular Deepavali tradition since a few decades ago and they agree it is time to rethink our ‘tradition’ and re-evaluate its relevance in the present scenario of rising pollution. While these student participants are sensible enough to admit it is kind of hard to go cold turkey and give up fireworks altogether, they pledge to make a start by reflecting on the issue and considerably reducing their firecracker consumption this coming festival.

This contest was part of Periyar Nagar Full-time Public Library’s 25^th anniversary celebrations organized at the premises of the library on October 15, 2017. Prizes for the various contests were distributed by Mr. S. Kannappan, Director of Public Libraries, Dr. B. Purushothaman, Correspondent & Senior Principal of The Everwin Group of Schools, and Dr. T. Senthamizh Pari of KVT Hospital. Mr. S. Subramanian, R. Meenakshisundaram, Mr. K. Thulasiraman of the Library’s Readers’ Circle and the chief librarian Mr. K. Venkatesan were instrumental in organizing the anniversary event.

Images: Dhurai A.N. & D. Navaneetham