People uses Twitter to show 'mass contempt' of SC order on firecrackers

They vented their anger, disappointment and sadness at the brazen violation of the court order, wondering how could farmers burning crop residue in neighbouring states be blamed for the deteriorating air quality of the national capital when Delhiites themselves were unmindful of their behaviour.

Twitter users took to the microblogging site posting pictures of people burning crackers wearing masks and slammed the "mass contempt" of Supreme Court's order permitting bursting of firecrackers between 8-10 pm.

They vented their anger, disappointment and sadness at the brazen violation of the court order, wondering how could farmers burning crop residue in neighbouring states be blamed for the deteriorating air quality of the national capital when Delhiites themselves were unmindful of their behaviour.

Aditya Periwal, a corporate lawyer, tweeted, "#CrackerBan No farmer is burning crops now in Delhi. Don't blame them. Delhiites, you deserve what you get! Pollution level 999 from 120 in 3 hours. Brazen contempt of court. But somehow, not surprised. It's Delhi after all".

"Peak Delhi is people bursting crackers while wearing pollution masks. Wow. I have no words," a journalism student tweeted with Twitter handle 'Cosmic noodle'.

Another user tweeted, "If this isn't mass contempt of #SupremeCourt, then what is? Non-stop crackers are what I was hearing last night. Full on. Anarchy. How can u do this #delhi?"

"The air is so polluted in Delhi that one can just choke to death. The city has become a breathing hell. #Diwali #DelhiPollution #masscontempt," Martand Jha tweeted.

Shruti Chan, a software professional, tweeted, "It feels Delhiites burst crackers only to let Supreme Court order down #Delhichoked #masscontempt #pollution".

Delhi recorded its worst air quality of the year the morning after Diwali as the pollution level entered the "severe-plus emergency" category due to a rampant bursting of toxic firecrackers, authorities said.

People in several cities burst firecrackers until at least midnight, two hours after the 10 PM deadline set by the Supreme Court.

Partly as a result of smoke from the firecrackers, the overall air quality index (AQI) in Delhi jumped to 574, which falls in the "severe-plus emergency" category, according to data by the Centre-run SAFAR (System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research).

The overall AQI was 10 times the permissible limit. An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered "good", 51 and 100 "satisfactory", 101 and 200 "moderate", 201 and 300 "poor", 301 and 400 "very poor", and 401 and 500 "severe". AQI above 500 falls in the "severe-plus emergency" category.

The Central Pollution Control Board had also opened social media accounts for netizens to lodge complaints of the violation of the anti-pollution guidelines.

(With inputs from agencies.)