It will be soundless and smokeless Diwali in the district this year involving participation children of tribespeople.

Social workers, part of the Sowmade forum of young hands in the city with the motto `united for the change’, are taking a cue from the celebrations last year.

Sowmade celebrated Diwali then with the tribal kids of Dhumannur and Sembukkarai tribal villages near Annaikatty. This even won it an award from the City Corporation Commissioner.

Social worker Mohan Prasath told The Covai Post that bursting crackers is against nature as noise and smoke are harmful to humans and animals alike.

“We are engaging children from the tribal areas in the celebrations as they live inside the forest areas and on the fringes. They need to be the first to know about the ill-effects of crackers,” he said.

This Diwali will have drawing and slogan competitions for children from tribal areas. It will be a ‘Masu Illa Deepavali’ which means a green Diwali.

He admits that it will be difficult to bring about a change quickly as bursting of crackers is seen as an integral part of Diwali celebrations. Instead, the forum will give these children new dress, sweets and water guns to make the celebrations as green as possible.

He also asked people to go for ‘kambi mathapu’, spinning chakras and flower pots as they made little noise.

The forum team with thrust on wildlife conservation would also be distributing stickers and posters with messages and could be pasted on house doors, he added. Such celebrations would also be held in tribal hamlets in the Nilgiris.

Sowmade is involved in many social activities, awareness campaigns and community development and welfare programmes in and around Coimbatore.