The Question : 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 the questions given below-(i) Why do the researchers call pollution the ‘flip side’ of festivals?(ii) Comment on the significance of the second objective of the study with reference to lines 7-12.(iii) Justify the researchers’ recommendation for limiting the drastic impact of festival pollution on the environment with reference to lines 16-21. (iv) Why do the researchers feel that environmental groups and eco-clubs are fighting a losing battle in the given scenario?(v) 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?(vi) What purpose does the ‘Can’t Say’ column serve in the questionnaire (table 1)?
Solution for the question :
(i) because the accepted norm is that festivals are synonymous with celebration/joy and people fail to see the other side, which is pollution
Or
festivals and pollution are two sides of the same coin currently/ polar opposites/ completely in contrast, yet together with each other—where we associate festivals with joy and celebration, we can’t deny that pollution is an ignored reality.
(ii) Second objective-Exploring solutions
Significance- important for knowing steps that need to be taken to address the problem investigated in the research/ knowing what are the immediate actions that need to be implemented to address the issue studied/ helps focus on what needs to be corrected & what needs to be avoided to solve the problem focussed on in the research.
(iii) Researcher’s recommendation: Strict rules
Justification: Strict rules are better than a total ban because banning does not serve the purpose of awareness/ people do not generally conform to banning and tend to revolt/ strict rules pose some restrictions but still give the needed freedom.
(iv) The festivals cause pollution along with other issues (give examples) that add to it. Awareness is the only solution but the lack of it only adds to the problem.
(v) A large percentage of people (72%) abuse environmental resources to celebrate festivals.
A high percentage of people (82%) use crackers to celebrate festivals in order to live up to the expectation of their social status.
(vi) gives a provision to/ allows the respondents to choose not to express/ not to answer/ allows an option to those who lack clarity/ are unwilling to respond
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