Diwali 2022 will be celebrated on 24 October. The festivities and celebration of Diwali begins 2 days prior from Dhanteras and ends with Bhai-dooj. 5 Days of Diwali are Dhanteras – Choti Diwali – Diwali – Parewah – Bhai Dooj. We all know that Diwali is the festival of lights and we love to decorate our houses with lights, diyas and candles. Not just this, but burning crackers too is one of the most aspect of Diwali celebration. But considering the current climate change crisis, we, the Responsible Yatri team would request you to celebrate eco-friendly Diwali. In this post, we are giving you 5 ways how you can celebrate eco-friendly Diwali.
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Say NO to candles
Candles, especially the painted ones, have petroleum which releases toxins when burnt. This toxins are dangerous for the environment and for humans as well. These toxins decrease the oxygen in the air as well. Instead of candles, use earthen diyas (mitti diyas).
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Cheap Lights
Cheap lights available in the market consume a lot of energy. We advise you to opt for LED lights as they consume less electricity than the normal ones. The lesser you use electricity, the lesser the demand of green house gases. Reduction in the usage of electricity will also reduce in the demand of it which ultimately reduce the pressure in power plants for energy generation. You might wonder, will just 1 or 2 strand of lights will have such a huge effect? My answer is YES!
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Eco-friendly home decor items
Do not buy single-use plastic decor items that you might throw after Diwali. It will only increase the pollution in the environment contributing to the increase in climate crisis. We advise you to opt for handmade, sustainable and eco-friendly home decor items this Diwali. You may get items made from sustainable and recycled products.
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Eco-friendly gift items
Giving gifts on Diwali is more like a ritual. Therefore apart from eatables, we suggest you to opt for eco-friendly gift items, handmade products, sustainable and recycled items, teas, spices, organic skin care products etc.
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Say NO to packets
We often carry our Diwali gifts and sweets in polythene/packets. When you buy something from the shop, simply say NO when the shopkeeper packs your item in the packet. Carry your own shopper when going to buy for yourself and in case of gifts, simply handover the item to the person instead of putting it in packets. And if you really want to put the gift inside something, opt for handmade or reusable bags.
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Crackers
We understand that burning crackers (patakhe/पटाखे) is the most fun part of Diwali. It is also a ritual and we need to burn at least 1 cracker in order to do the shagun. Do it. We are not saying that don’t burn crackers (although, if you choose to not to, virtual hug to you) but at least reduce the quantity and change the quality. Harsh truth but crackers increase noise, air and water pollution. Every year in Delhi NCR, it becomes so hard to breathe after Diwali because of the air pollution caused by burning excessive crackers. So, do it in limits. Many states have banned crackers, if you are in one of those states, follow the rules strictly. And if you are planning to burn crackers the green crackers aka eco-friendly crackers. It has been explained that green crackers don’t contain barium, aluminium, potassium nitrate or carbon which makes them eco-friendly. They might be a little more expensive than the normal ones, but is it good for you and your family!
I really hope you will follow these tips and try to celebrate eco-friendly Diwali this year.
We shall continue to bring more information to you. Requesting you to share this article on your social media in order to make people aware about the climate and environmental crisis.
Also read: What is Nature Positive Tourism?
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