Green Mirage

EV batteries, while cleaner at the tailpipe, bring their own health risks if not managed responsibly. Fires caused by overheating or faulty charging release toxic fumes, including hydrofluoric acid and other harmful compounds, which can endanger first responders and nearby residents.

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Informal recycling practices ~ where workers dismantle batteries without protective gear ~ expose them to heavy metals and corrosive chemicals, leading to long-term respiratory and neurological damage. Without proper regulation, the very technology meant to reduce pollution can create new hazards for human health.

Pollution in India has become a growing menace, wearing many disguises across the seasons.

During Deepawali, the bursting of crackers fills the air with smoke and toxic particles, turning celebration into suffocation. As winter deepens, stubble burning in the northern plains adds its own thick layer of haze, aggravating an already dire situation. Fossil-fuelled cars, even when they pass official pollution tests, continue to be blamed for adding invisible emissions to the atmosphere. And now, even the much-touted electric vehicles ~ preferred as the clean alternative ~ carry hidden hazards in the form of battery risks, unsafe charging, and disposal challenges.

The truth is that all these sources, whether festive, agricultural, or technological, converge into one problem: polluted air and poisoned soil. We cannot afford to treat crackers as culture, stubble burning as compulsion, or EVs as unquestioned progress without acknowledging their collective impact. True celebration lies in light, not smoke; true innovation lies in responsibility, not hidden emissions. The larger challenge of pollution cannot be solved by restraint in one area alone ~ it demands a rethinking of how we celebrate, how we farm, and how we travel.