Happy Deepavali

[livingdead]

Diwali still not over in london.

 

[Sashan]

Diwali just started for me in US.

 

[Abingdonboy]

Happy Diwali all!

 

[ajtr]

 

[ajtr]

A day after Diwali, pollution level expected to be high despite fewer crackers

New Delhi: It's the day after Diwali on Wednesday and the pollution control board will release it's data on pollution levels. Experts have warned that crackers would add to toxin levels in the atmosphere and cause the smog around the National Capital Region to return.
People in the national capital celebrated Diwali with a loud bang. While the Supreme Court had in 2005 put a ban on the use of firecrackers after 10 pm on Diwali night, many people burst crackers even after 11 pm. Many households expressed helplessness as there was no stopping those who continued to burst crackers till late night.
However, in 2012, there has been a dip in the sale of firecrackers. When CNN-IBN spoke to some shopkeepers, they said that the dip was because of anti-cracker campaigns and also because people did not want to spend much on expensive crackers.

There were also those who are celebrating Diwali in an eco-friendly manner, like businessman Varun Kumar and his wife Jyoti, who decided not to burn crackers this year and to celebrate by lighting diyas instead. "Crackers cause a lot of air pollution and are bad for health. So we are not bursting crackers. We want to inculcate this in our children as well. Instead, we are lighting diyas, candles and having dinner," Varun said.
But despite efforts, there is noise and smoke in the air after Diwali. The question as to how green this Diwali will be answered once the central pollution control board analyses and reveals the data on air quality.

 

[ajtr]

On the occasion of Diwali

For this one day of the year, politicians of all stripes and sizes will trip over themselves to wish the Hindu community a happy Diwali. Their statements will make it to the newspapers, they will feel happy about themselves and then they will go back to doing nothing about the plight of Hindus in the county. The Hindu population doesn’t need politicians to pay them lip service; it needs actual action to be taken to help them out. In Sindh, kidnappings of young Hindu girls, who are then forcibly converted to Islam and married off to influential locals, continue unabated. Even the Supreme Court took up a forcible conversion case but did not rule in favour of the Hindu family, whose daughter had been wrenched away from them. In Balochistan, meanwhile, prosperous Hindu traders are being kidnapped for ransom and the state has not even acknowledged the problem. Many Hindu families have been left with no option but to migrate to India — a country they don’t want to live in but one where they will at least be accepted.
Of course, it is not just the Hindu community that faces public discrimination and official apathy. Christians and other minorities live in constant fear of being attacked or hauled off to jail after being accused of blasphemy. Often, their ‘crime’ is nothing but a property dispute or a misunderstanding. But their religion ensures that only the Muslim point of view will be heard. Christians are given the most menial jobs in the country and end up living in poverty-stricken ghettos. And yet, come Christmas or Easter time, all our politicians will be posing in front of the camera reading out their rehearsed statements.
If the plight of minorities is indeed something the political class cares about, there is a lot that can be done. A simple reform of the blasphemy laws alone, making it much harder for cases to be registered without proof, would make minorities feel incalculably safer. Now is also the time to treat every citizen of the country as a Pakistani, regardless of caste, creed or religion. It is scandalous that non-Muslims cannot be elected as president. This is not the Pakistan that Jinnah fought for.

 

[ajtr]

Children’s Day to be 2012’s most polluted

NEW DELHI: Children's Day on Wednesday will be the most polluted day of the year, scientists from the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune and Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast on Tuesday.

Scientists from the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune, and IMD have predicted that pollution from firecrackers this Diwali would, however, be about 10 per cent less than last year.

"After the extreme pollution on November 9, Delhi will witness more severe pollution on Wednesday," SAFAR (System of Air quality Forecasting and Research) said in a statement here.

According to SAFAR, the level of particulate matter — which poses the biggest health risk — would start to build up rapidly from midnight on November 14 and would continue to rise till early morning on November 15 before dipping.

 

[Hellraiser007]

Some body here is burning with out even using crackers .

 

[my2cents]

 

[Rang De]

Diwali celebration pics

 

[Rang De]

 

[agamdilawari]

 

[ajtr]

To cut smoke, fewer fireworks at Golden Temple

To give a message to the Sikh Sangat to save environment and to check pollution around the Golden Temple, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) displayed fireworks for only 10 minutes on the occasion of Bandi Chhod Diwas (Divali) last night.

Golden Temple manager Harbans Singh Malhi said the SGPC incurred Rs 1.60 lakh on the fireworks, the actual cost of which was much higher. He said four city-based dealers supplied the fireworks every year. They were given Rs 35,000 each last year, but due to high inflationary trend, they were given a hike of Rs 5,000 each this year, he said.

The fireworks took place at four spots in the Golden Temple complex, two locations close to Ghanta Ghar and one each near Sikh Reference Library and Darshani Deodhi.

Last Divali, the Golden Temple had witnessed fireworks for 15 minutes, which was half as compared to previous years. Earlier, there used to be a half-an-hour show of fireworks on occasions like Guru Ram Das's birth anniversary and Bandi Chhod Diwas.

Malhi said: "We have gradually reduced the duration from 30 minutes to 10 minutes". He said they had been looking for an alternative to high-altitude fireworks. "We are in touch with various Sikh organisations abroad and they are helping us explore options that will ensure minimum pollution," he said.

The Punjab Pollution Control Board had last year advised the SGPC to ban bursting of firecrackers at the Golden Temple complex. However, the SGPC had said it could not discontinue fireworks altogether as it was the traditional way to celebrate the occasion and the sentiments of devotees were attached to it.

The move to reduce the duration of fireworks was hailed by environmentalists and concerned citizens.

Maj Mahinder Singh Sarkaria (retd), a local resident, welcomed the move and said it was an exemplary way to tell the people to celebrate pollution-free Divali.

Mission Aggaaz, Earth and Resources Care group, general secretary Gurbhej also welcomed the move.

An illuminated Golden Temple complex was a cynosure of all eyes. A large number of people from the country and abroad visited the shrine.

The SGPC used to foot a bill of Rs 20 lakh per annum to illuminate the holy complex with fancy electric bulbs on auspicious occasions.

"With the contribution from sangat, the management procured the entire electric illuminating apparatus for Rs 35 lakh last year. Now, barring the electricity consumption, no other expense was incurred on illumination, he added.

Though the local administration in the past had initiated various measures like banning coal-run hearths used by goldsmiths around the Golden Temple, a lot still needs to be done to make the vicinity of the shrine smoke-free.

Step in right direction

Time for fireworks display cut to 10 minutes to check pollution
Last Divali, the Golden Temple had witnessed fireworks for 15 minutes, which was half as compared to previous years
The Punjab Pollution Control Board had last year advised the SGPC to ban bursting of firecrackers at the Golden Temple complex. However, the SGPC had said it could not discontinue fireworks altogether as it was the traditional way to celebrate the occasion and the sentiments of devotees were attached to it.