Over a week after Supreme Court banned the sale of firecrackers in Delhi-NCR, a majority of the people in the national capital have come out in support of it. In a random survey conducted by the ASSOCHAM Social Development Foundation (ASDF), it was found that a large number of working professionals were in favour of the ban.

To get the views of Delhiites on the ban, ASDF interacted with around 2,000 people at the entry and the exit gates of various Metro stations.

More than half of the respondents who took part in the survey were in favour of the ban on the sale of fire-crackers and welcomed the apex court’s decision. They stated that to control air pollution this step was much needed, however, some were apprehensive about how effective the ban would be.

They added that apart from the ban the authorities should take strict action against the other factors that cause air pollution.

Meanwhile, 35 per cent of the respondents seemed not pleased with the decision on banning the crackers. They said that the announcement made by the apex court would mar the festive mood, as there has been a long tradition of lighting fireworks on Diwali. Terming the ban “unfair”, they said that instead of being selective only for Diwali, there should be a blanket ban on firecrackers for all festivals celebrated in Delhi-NCR.

However, the remaining respondents said that the ban was not going to make much difference to the air pollution levels. They also said that before banning, the authorities should have been considerate about fireworks’ manufacturers, traders and their families.

The survey stated that the construction activities, road dust, vehicular pollution, waste burning and other such factors were major reasons for the deteriorating air quality in and around the city, with a majority people in Delhi-NCR saying the no source of pollution was too small to be ignored when it comes to the public health concerns.

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