Arvind Kejriwal plans ‘collective Diwali’ for Delhi

NEW DELHI: Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has plans to draw out Delhiites on Diwali and ensure they can collectively enjoy laser fireworks at one place, just like the Americans do on July 4 or the British on Guy Fawkes Day.

“Go home and light diyas. But don’t burst crackers,” Kejriwal urged Delhi residents during an exclusive interview with ET. “For controlling pollution on Diwali, we have decided to celebrate ‘collective Diwali’. We are working out the details. We will invite Delhiites: Come, let’s celebrate together. We will meet at one place. We can put up (laser) fireworks at one place and then people can go home and light diyas. If they cannot come to that place, they can watch it on TV. Next year, we will organise it on an even larger scale,” he said.

The Delhi government, according to Kejriwal, would need to import expensive equipment to recreate the scale of fireworks seen on July 4 in American cities. But it would still want to make a beginning. “If you see the Supreme Court order, it has also allowed it in a restricted manner at designated places,” Kejriwal said.


Highlighting the drop in pollution this year, Kejriwal said the main challenge will come up next month when stubble burning begins in Delhi’s neighbouring states. “We can’t say that we can’t do anything about pollution — Haryana has done this, Punjab is doing that. This time, we have decided we will take action in the crucial month of November at the time of crop burning. We will be distributing masks on a large scale. We have floated a tender to buy 50 lakh (5 million) masks. We will also introduce the ‘odd-even scheme’,” he said.