Won't burst crackers on Diwali, say 87% citizens of Delhi-NCR

New Delhi: A survey conducted by LocalCircles – a citizen engagement platform – revealed that 87 percent people around Delhi-NCR won't burst firecrackers.

The survey comes days after the Supreme Court ordered a ban on the sale of firecrackers in and around Delhi-NCR.

More than 10,000 people participated in the polls. While 31 percent of citizens said that they would like to burn crackers but will not do it since they are not available in the market, 5 percent said that they had already got the crackers and would burst them. Eight percent said that they would like to know how to get the crackers in spite of the ban being imposed.

With the air quality reduced to toxic levels – five times the safe levels set by the WHO – Delhi features in the list of the most polluted cities in the world.

During Diwali, this goes up to 10 times due to excessive use of firecrackers, combined with the burning of crop residue in Punjab and Haryana, LocalCircles said in a statement on Tuesday.

"The effects of this decision are yet to be seen but many citizens have pointed that people have found backdoor channels to procure firecrackers."

"The majority feel that banning firecrackers is a good move and would lead the way in the fight against pollution," the statement added.

(With IANS inputs)