Diwali: Cracker ban goes up in smoke as Delhi air quality turns 'very poor'
A 'very poor' air quality index essentially means that people may suffer from respiratory illnesses on a prolonged exposure to such air The festive fervour gripped the nation on Thursday as people celebrated Diwali, often referred to as 'the festival of lights by lighting diyas (earthen lamps), paying obeisance to Goddess Lakshmi, distributing sweets. However, a quiet and promising evening gave way to thick haze and noise as Delhi celebrated Diwali, dashing the hopes of cracker-free festivities, following a Supreme Court ban on the sale of firecrackers in the National Capital Region (NCR). The cracker-bursting was relatively subdued as compared to previous years. However, the revelers in the adjoining townships of Delhi such as Noida, Gurgaon and Faridabad paid little heed to the apex court's writ and environmentalists' concerns. Real-time pollution data alarming The online indicators of the pollution monitoring stations in the city glowed red, ...