SC firecracker ban: How it will impact Delhi air, shopkeepers this Diwali

While the decision might come as a relief for the residents of the region, shopkeepers and sellers are sure to feel the pinch

Delhiites might get to enjoy a relatively cleaner Diwali this year as the Supreme Court on Monday ruled that there will be no sale of firecrackers in Delhi and the National Capital Region during Diwali, as it restored a November 2016 order banning the sale and stocking of firecrackers there.

Will Delhi’s air get cleaner?

Diwali fireworks had lit up the skyline of Delhi on the night of October 30 last year, but darkness had descended the morning after as a dense blanket of smog turned the city into a chamber of noxious and cancer-causing pollutants.

With the Supreme Court banning the sale of firecrackers in the Delhi-NCR till November 1, can Delhiites breathe a sigh of relief?

(Read our full report oh how the SC order will affect Delhi’s air quality)

Union Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan welcomed the apex court’s order and urged people to abide by the SC guidelines and “give green Diwali and our environment a chance”.

A dark Diwali for shopkeepers

While for some this Diwali will be free of noise and smoke, for others such as Harjeet Singh and more than 1,000 big and small business owners in the capital, this festive season will be quite dark.

As reported earlier, left dumbfounded by the Supreme Court’s sudden ban on the sale of firecrackers in Delhi-NCR, Singh and several firecracker sellers like him have lost all hope of recovering their money.

(Read our full report on how the SC order has hit cracker sellers hard)

In the heart of one of the largest wholesale markets in the country, New Delhi’s Sadar Bazaar, more than 1,000 people involved with the firecracker industry are looking at loss of seasonal business as well as revenue of more than Rs 700 crore. The firecrackers market in Delhi-NCR is Rs 2,000 crore. | Readmore…