Read the following excerpt from a case study titled Impacts of Festivities on Ecology.
Festivals are synonymous with celebration, ceremony and joy. However, festivals bring to fore the flip side of celebrations – pollution – air, water, soil and noise. This led to the need of assessing the awareness level among people about ecological pollution during festivals. So, a study was conducted by scholars of an esteemed university in India. This study was titled Awareness Towards Impact of Festivals on Ecology.
There were two main objectives of the study. The first one was to assess the awareness level among people about ecological protection during festivities. Exploring solutions to bring awareness about celebrating festivals without harming ecology was the second objective. The method used to collect data was a simple questionnaire containing 6 questions, shared with 50 respondents across four selected districts of a state in the southern region of India.
The research began by understanding the socio-economic conditions of the respondents before sharing the questionnaire. Once the responses were received, the data collected was tabulated (Table 1), for analysis.
Table-1: Awareness level among respondents
|
QUESTIONS |
YES% |
NO% |
CAN’T SAY% |
|
1. Do you feel that bursting crackers is a must during festivities? |
46 |
54 |
0 |
|
2. Do you think most people abuse environmental resources during celebration of festivals? |
72 |
28 |
0 |
|
3. Do you think that celebrations & festivities result in uniting people? |
64 |
32 |
4 |
|
4. Do you enjoy bursting crackers for amusement? |
68 |
32 |
0 |
|
5. Do you feel pressured to burst crackers during festivals as an expectation of your social status? |
82 |
12 |
6 |
|
6. Are you aware of waste segregation & disposal guidelines for better ecology? |
56 |
40 |
4 |
The study recommended the imposition of strict rules and regulations as opposed to a total ban on all festive activities which have a drastic impact on our environment. The researchers believed that such measures would help in harnessing some ill-effects that add to the growing pollution and suggested further studies be taken up across the country to assess awareness about ecological degradation.
The observations made in the study pointed to the environmental groups and eco-clubs fighting a losing battle due to city traffic issues, disposal of plastics, garbage dumping and all sorts of ecological degradation. The researchers stressed that the need of the hour is increasing awareness among people to reduce ecological pollution which can be facilitated by celebrating all festivals in an eco-friendly manner.
On the basis of your understanding of the passage, answer ANY FIVE questions from the six given below.
Even though a larger number of people say ‘no’ to bursting crackers than those who say ‘yes’, festival pollution persists. How does evidence from table 1 support this statement?
Answer
68% of people burst crackers for amusement and 82% of people feel pressured to burst crackers to celebrate festivals in order to live up to the expectation of their social status. It is also important to note that 72% of people abuse environmental resources during the celebration of festivals. From the data above, we understand that although a large number of people refuse to burst crackers, festival pollution exists.
