Environmentalists demand stricter enforcement of laws on Holi

Ahead of Holi celebrations green activists of Agra have demanded effective steps by the Agra Municipal Corporation to ensure that environmental pollution on Holi was minimised through the use of ecofriendly colours and firewoodIn a memorandum to the municipal corporation chief the activists demanded the promotion of the use of Gau Kashth briquettes made from cow dung hay and saw dustThe general trend is to chop branches of trees on a large scale and use them for burning Holika the holy bonfire People have been piling up all kinds of garbage plastic polythene leather cuttings from shoe factories household waste used clothes on the Holika which is set on fire around midnight said environmentalist Devashish BhattacharyaAnother big problem is that these Holikas are lit up on main road crossingsThe coal tar also gets burnt and leaves huge scars on the roads These potholes are rarely filled promptly Some people also burn used tyres Clearly the administration has to stop all this said green activist Padmini IyerEach year the green cover in the ecosensitive Taj Trapezium Zone was shrinking Lakhs of saplings planted during the rainy season hardly survive for want of careThe green cover in Agra is hardly nine per cent The national policy guideline is 33 per cent For Holi burning hundreds of trees is assaulted both in urban areas and rural hinterland We must educate our people and provide them alternatives added River Connect Campaigner Jugal ShrotriyaA rough estimate of the number of Holikas set on fire in Agra city is more than a thousandIf an average of 10 quintals of firewood is burnt one can calculate the damage and loss said Chaturbhuj TiwariIn the rural areas people generally use cow dung cakes and Vilayati Babool branches but in urban areas since firewood has become exorbitantly expensive people choose to burn all the trash and waste available This releases large quantities of noxious gases into the atmosphere the activists saidThey appealed to the administration to campaign and create awareness to sensitise people to the hazards of pollution By using alternative materials like organic waste the emission of harmful pollutants can be containedThe state pollution control board should continuously monitor and enforce regulations The corporation should immediately clean up and fill up the potholes on the roads created by Holika Dahan People should also be encouraged to use ecofriendly colours and gulal the activists suggestedAlready the air pollution level in Agra is very high Recent reports suggest that despite a slew of measures after the historic Supreme Court verdict in 1993 to save the Taj Mahal from pollution there has not been any significant change in the air quality or the pollution level in the cityThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever