New Delhi (Sputnik) — A day before Deepawali — a Hindu festival known for the fireworks, the Indian capital city of Delhi saw its cleanest November day in the last few years after an apex court imposed a partial ban on crackers.
The central pollution control agency in a release on Monday said that Delhi's air quality this time "could be better due to weather conditions and strict action against the sale and use of crackers."
On October 23, the Supreme Court of India, while hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL), had directed that sale of only "green crackers" with "low emission" be permitted. It also stipulated fixed occasions and timings for the bursting of crackers.
Since the ban order, Delhi police have arrested several people in the city caught bursting fire crackers and also seized crackers weighing more than over 2500 kg, according to local news reports.
"We have been informed that there have been a crackdown on cracker godowns, and cracker markets are closed in Delhi. Plus, even though winds will be northwesterly before and during Deepawali, IMD (India Meteorological Department) has informed us that wind speed will not fall to zero — which means there will be some movement," CPCB secretary Prashant Gargava told the news agency PTI.
As usual, social media is abuzz with different reactions ranging from support, criticism, memes, and parodies.