'Pollution Subsides': Yogi Adityanath Defends Bursting Of Crackers On Diwali

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has defended bursting firecrackers during Diwali, saying any pollution caused by the celebrations would eventually dissipate. He questioned why similar concern was not shown over corruption that had "polluted the entire system".

The chief minister said his government had imposed no restrictions on the celebrations and had instead encouraged people to observe the festival "wholeheartedly".

"You must have noticed the hustle and bustle in the markets on Dhanteras. Many people claimed that Diwali caused pollution. Well, even if it did, it will eventually dissipate," Yogi Adityanath said at a government programme where he distributed appointment letters to over 1,000 newly recruited junior assistants.

"It was wonderful to see people enjoying themselves with plenty of fireworks. I was in Ayodhya. It seems that whenever people celebrate a festival, others suddenly start talking about pollution," he said at the event where he also formally released Rs 215 crore to 4,300 beneficiaries under the Mukhyamantri Kisan Durghatna Kalyan Yojana, an insurance and security scheme for farmer families.

The UP chief minister's comments came amid the annual debate over the impact of firecrackers on air quality during Diwali. He compared the criticism against one day of celebrations with what he called "silence over systemic wrongdoing".

"No one questions those who have polluted the entire system with their corrupt deeds, yet if the public sets off some firecrackers for a single day, people start crying 'pollution'," Yogi Adityanath said. "Even if there is some pollution, it will clear up; that is not the real issue."

He said the UP government had made it clear that there would be no restrictions. "Go ahead and enjoy the fireworks," he added, and attacked previous governments in UP before the BJP came to power in 2017 in the country's most populous state. He alleged that back then under the earlier governments, festivals were frequently preceded by communal disturbances.

"Before 2017, whenever any festival arrived, whether it was Holi, Diwali, Vijayadashami, Janmashtami, Shivratri, Christmas, Eid, Guru Parv or Makar Sankranti, riots would break out right before them."

In neighbouring Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR), the air quality nosedived on Monday morning hours after Diwali celebrations ended the previous night. Official data reported the air quality index (AQI) rising to 483 or the 'severe' category, while private monitoring organisations including IQAir, a Swiss company specialising in protection against airborne pollutants, reported AQI of above 1,000 in some areas.

This morning, former deputy director of the World Health Organisation Dr Soumya Swaminathan told NDTV that there is a need to put health at the centre of the pollution debate.

"Just like we're saying, let's put health at the centre of climate change, it's very much true for air pollution. The Air Quality Health Index is one but if we start looking from a health outcomes perspective, not only will it drive action but you'll be able to measure outcomes...

"One thing is clear: the moment you start reducing air pollution levels, you start seeing improvements in health and those can easily be measured. You start saving lives," Dr Swaminathan told NDTV.