Nashik: The Supreme Court order restricting bursting of fire crackers during Diwali had little impact on bringing down the noise levels in the city during the festive period.Though the pre-Diwali check of the firecrackers showed that they were within the permissible decibels, the noise levels on the day of Laxmi Pujan and Bhau Beej were not just higher than the permissible level, but also slightly more than those recorded last year (see box).The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) monitored noise levels at five locations across the city on both these days and found the noise levels to be on the higher side. The ambient air quality during Diwali was moderate.Purvi Naik, a resident of Gangapur Road, said that the Supreme Court order was not heeded to anywhere in the city. “At Gangapur Road, College Road and Mahatma Nagar, the upmarket areas of the city, we saw many citizens openly flouting the SC order on firecrackers. There was no sense of fear of the police or authorities,” she said.Social activist Jagbir Singh, who has been crusading against pollution due to crackers, alleged that the firecrackers had not been checked properly. “The MPCB buys crackers from well-known companies for checking the permissible decibels. Firecrackers from many other companies are available in the market. Random sampling will give the exact figures. Moreover, the 8 pm-10 pm time restriction was not at all followed,” he said.MPCB officials said that crackers were burst during Diwali despite the SC order. “The figures show that crackers were burst despite the Supreme Court’s orders. The decibels were a little higher than last year but that is going to happen,” the official said.Shankar Bhole, a resident of Nashik Road, said the police were patrolling at night and also stopped those bursting crackers beyond 10 pm. “People of all ages were bursting crackers at any time they wanted even on the main roads. If all take a decision to cut down on bursting crackers, noise pollution can be curbed to a large extent,” he said.MPCB officials, however, said that they did monitor the timing as set by the SC but it was not possible to monitor every lane of the city.On November 1, MPCB had conducted noise testing of firecrackers before Diwali. The noise test is taken on hard concrete surface where space up to 15 meter is vacant. As many as 16 types of crackers were tested. They found that all the crackers were within permissible limits.As per the amended Environment Protection Act, 1999, maximum impulse should be 135 decibel at a distance of five meter from where the cracker is burst. Similarly, cracker sellers are permitted to sell crackers up to 145 peak decibels.

Stay updated with all the Latest Nashik headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.