The Dusshera/Diwali Pledge
All of us, especially parents, need to realise that every cracker that we burn pollutes our lungs. Every cracker that you burn is equivalent to asking your child to smoke. It is for you to decide if this is the type of thrill and excitement you want to gift to your child this Dusshera/Diwali.
This Dusshera/Diwali you have an opportunity to reduce the smoke that you, your child and your loved ones inhale by not having local Ravan effigy burnings, by not bursting crackers and also by spreading this message across (use your social media platforms). Each cracker less burnt means one unit of harmful gases less inhaled by you and your dear ones.
I hope if not for your own health, at least for the health of your dear ones and your children you would stop this practice. Put to use the learnings of your UPSC phase of life to make the world a better place.
Here you see the picture of a person's lungs from Himachal Pradesh and another from Delhi. It is up to you now to decide how much more you want to blacken yours and your children's lungs this Diwali. People love to renovate/clean their houses on Diwali, I hope you all will also remember to keep your lungs clean.
Comments
I hope people on this Forum realise that such messages are to be taken for their wisdom and not for the exact use of words. As geography students we are taught the same about theories of Malthus and Limits to growth (here you go; I have now also given a question for optional students to prepare on
Anyways there are some reports that corroborate the comparisons made between cracker burning and cigarette smoking in the message above.
http://m.indiatimes.com/health-and-fitness/breathing-the-air-in-mumbai-for-one-day-during-diwali-equivalent-to-113-cigarettes-48639.html
http://www.indiaspend.com/cover-story/smoke-from-firecracker-snake-464-cigarettes-and-other-diwali-stories-53583
Most of the people here, I believe (I don't have stats on this @Vrikodara), live in Delhi. They will be the ones worst affected specially in the winter days of Diwali (cigarette or no cigarette). I hope that at least the future IAS officers (and their families) of this country do not suffer from respiratory/pulmonary diseases to be able to devote full attention to administration.