A day after Diwali, major cities wake up to polluted air, smog blanket and littered roads

The residents in all major cities woke up to a 'hazardous' morning on Monday, the day after Diwali, with thick smog enveloping the skyline, remnants of firecrackers and garbage littering the roads and air quality plunging to dangerous levels. 

Besides Delhi, where the overall air quality stood at 275 (poor category), major metro cities of Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai too witnessed poor air quality. The air quality remained 'poor' in Kolkata and its neighbourhood on Monday morning, while the Air Quality Index (AQI) at Chennai's Arumbakkam area was 260. It was even higher in certain areas, including Manali and Velachery areas. 

As for Mumbai, the overall AQI of the city was 235 at 'poor category. Besides, Lucknow and Bhubaneswar too saw AQI plunging to 'poor category'.

So dire was the situation that Kolkata and Mumbai too joined Delhi to be among the world's worst 10 for pollution on Monday morning. While the capital New Delhi took the top spot, it was followed by Kolkata in fourth position and Mumbai in the eighth position.

Firecrackers

Besides the unfavourable weather conditions, the unrestricted use of firecrackers too added to the plight. The Supreme Court had banned firecrackers containing barium, adding that the ban is not just limited to the Delhi-NCR region, which is reeling under severe air pollution. It also allotted certain time periods for bursting eco-friendly crackers in some cities.

But, most states, including Delhi, witnessed widespread flouting of norms, though it was relatively less than the last years. 

Amid call for action against this, the Tamil Nadu police said 47 cases have been registered related to the bursting of firecrackers beyond the specified time limit as permitted by the state government on Diwali in the district.

Besides, the cities also saw heaps of firecracker waste and garbage littered across the streets. In Chennai, piles of waste lay scattered on the streets at Kolathur, Vilivakkam, Koyambedu and Perambur areas. In Lucknow, remnants of crackers, sweet boxes, bevarage bottles and plastic waste dotted the streets. According to Lucknow municipal authorites, over 50 tonnes of excess waste is collected on the day after Diwali every year.