GUWAHATI: The day after Diwali, Guwahati is covered with thick smog from the aftereffects of firecrackers.
Guwahati recorded an AQI of 250 in Railway Colony, 241 in LGBI Airport, 234 in Pan Bazar and 200 in IIT – Guwahati. The whole of Guwahati’s air quality has been deemed as ‘Poor’ with the AQI readings.
There are a total of six categories of air quality, namely Good (0-50), Satisfactory (51-100), Moderate (101-200), Poor (201-300), Very poor (301-400), and Severe (above 400).
Although the Guwahati police issued strict guidelines to celebrate this Diwali in an eco-friendly manner and also intensified their efforts to inspect and regulate the sale of green crackers it seems the air quality of the city is still degraded.
While speaking to GPlus, a resident of Ulubari, Arnab Das said, “We were very careful buying crackers this year. Even though it was said that only green crackers were being sold, the day after Diwali’s air says otherwise.”
Another resident of Panjabari said, “No one adhered to the time restrictions issued by the authorities. People were bursting crackers after 10 PM and went till 1 AM here. So today’s drop in air quality was obvious.”
Talking to GPlus, a senior official from PCBA said, "The AQI dropped in Guwahati because of Diwali. Even though the green cracker rule was imposed, most didn't follow it. Yesterday the amount of firecracker that was busted was unprecedented."
The latest guidelines on bursting crackers in Guwahati stated that bursting of 'green crackers' would only be allowed only for two hours during Diwali celebrations, from 8 PM to 10 PM.
"There shall be a complete ban on bursting sound emitting firecrackers between 10:00 PM and 8:00 AM," said an official notification.
However, it was evident that the notification failed to dampen Guwahati's festivities, as the skies continued to be illuminated till late last night.
