CRACKERS  OR 

QUAKERS ?????

Did you know that diyas lit on the moonless Diwali night signifies the end of darkness and the beginning of happiness?

Do Crackers really “begin happiness???”

Beautiful ,huh….............???

A recent NDTV study shows,

The production pace gets accelerated during September-October in sivakasi to meet the enormous demand during Diwali. To cope up with

the target, thousands of children are employed on casual basis.

It takes half a million children in Southern Tamilnadu to make these fireworks round the year. These children earn Rs. 10-15 per DAY for working 15 hours/day. Children of your age are DENIED EDUCATION, FOOD and FREEDOM. They are as equally affected as the children of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Therefore we HAVE TO AVOID these fireworks which have caused a doom in a million lives.

School becomes a dream for these children if…… YOU BUY FIRE-CRACKERS…..

Noise Pollution:For most people lighting of firecrackers is the highlight of Diwali. Brighter the sparkles, louder the noise, the greater the thrill!! In fact to many of us, these aesthetic forms of light seem so appropriate and most essential when celebrating the 'Festival of Lights'.

If humans themselves can’t bear the noise pollution caused by firecrackers, then think about animals who hear SEVEN times more than us…HOW LOUD WOULD FIRECRACKERS BE TO THEM??

Repeatedly as we burst crackers the birds, dogs and cats in the area run away for shelter and when they do not find shelter they get traumatized and some of them DIE due to pressure.……..DO WE WANT TO KILL THESE LOVELY CREATURES BY BURSTING FIRECRACKERS?

AIR POLLUTION- A record 30 million people were affected by ASTHMA in India post Diwali last year. Ranging from young children to old people, the smoke causes ASTHMA to everybody. 19 deaths were reported around the country with 6 in Hyderabad alone. Breathing trouble leads to heart congestion and causes death in severe cases.

Is it enough??

Water Pollution:The run off from the fireworks which when mixes with the ground water form harmful toxic liquids which when consumed by Humans or animals causes nausea and leads to collapse of vital organs including Kidney and Liver…

The light attracts young turtles towards the shore and eventually they come until the road and get run over by a car……..

Firecrackers also cause serious injuries if not handled properly, especially by children…

Hazardous smoke created from the fireworks can lead to a number of adverse health effects, including heart disturbances, asthma attack, allergies and respiratory illnesses like bronchitis, emphysema, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, laryngitis, pneumonia and other effects.

Dangers exist because firecrackers contain some very toxic metals that are dangerous to humans and to the environment. Metals like manganese, as well as cadmium, lead, zinc, sodium, magnesium and potassium can only exist within humans at minimal amounts before health effects are suffered, and excess of these also contribute to the depletion of the ozone layer.

Animals & Birds….An Government survey shows that after

firecrackers during Diwali kills 13% of Chennai’s SPARROW population…….

And what about the paper waste???

With so much negativity added to a celebration, do we really need to burst crackers?

We don’t want to make a festival of lights into a festival of Child Labour, Pollution

and INSENSITIVITY..

So……

WHAT DO WE DO??????

Just Avoid Crackers and glow lamps!

SIMPLE!!

That’s what Deepavali actually means- Row of Lamps!

“Charity begins at home”. Let us not buy crackers and educate our friends about the darker side of this illuminating object.

But how can MY contribution be

sufficient???

Just like “ Every drop makes an ocean”, every contribution DOES makes a difference..!!!

If the Government doesn’t ban Firecrackers, you can just avoid Firecrackers!

Taiwan has banned Firecrackers!

Sweden then lead the way in 2001!

In 2005 Hong Kong also banned Firecrackers!

Malaysia followed in 2003!

United States in 2007!!!

Australia in 2009!

In Canada, anyone below 18 can’t burst firecrackers!

Also by lighting lamps instead of crackers, you are encouraging

pottery! This will give employment to rural India!!!