For the past ten years, when the months November to December comes, Delhi's name starts getting strongly discussed all over the country. Details and discussions start to mention about the poor condition of Air quality and how difficult it is to breathe in Delhi, reports start coming on how the numbers of the Air Quality Index (AOI) of Delhi have crossed normal levels and how the people of Delhi are forced to take bad air...etc etc.. And with that news, the non-stop accusations and attacks start. The blame game especially starts between Delhi, Haryana, and Punjab, where the Delhi government blames Punjab and the Punjab government blames the farmers of Haryana. Time passes from November to February in these discussions and allegations. In the meantime, children also get a break from their schools for a few days, and after February, everything normalizes and resumes again. At that point later everyone from media to the various state governments and the people all forget that there was a problem of severe air pollution in Delhi.
However, it is not that there is no air pollution in Delhi after February. Nor does it happen that the air of Delhi gets purified. Rather, the only difference during the year is that the air pollution that is noticeable in winter becomes a silent killer in the rest of the seasons. It simply means that air pollution is not a public health issue but a political issue, which can generate maximum TRP's.
But the year 2023 is something different. Two important things happened this year regarding air pollution. One thing happened that every year the noise of air pollution which used to occur in mid-November started from the end of October i.e. about a month earlier. The second thing that happened, that this time the uproar of air pollution started in Mumbai before it happened in Delhi! And before Delhi, Mumbai Municipality had to prepare a task force to fight air pollution!
Both of these are scary situations in a way. But I consider the second event more scary because, until now, there have been discussions and concerns only in Delhi and the Northern States of the country regarding air pollution. But now it is quite shocking that figures of air pollution are coming from all over the country. As this article is being written, the headlines of the leading newspapers in Gujarat are 'India ranks eighth in the world with worst air'.In the same story, a box story also lists the most polluted cities of the world that include Indian cities like Delhi, Mumbai, and Calcutta with Lahore and Kuwait among the rest of the world.
It means that Delhi is not the only city or state in the country, where the air is polluted, we are getting a city from every zone of the country, which is saying that the air pollution in the country is at its peak. If we look at the statistics, we will realize that 54000 people die every year due to air pollution in Delhi alone. In Mumbai, every year, 25000 people die due to bad air.
Due to air pollution, if another serious matter has raised its head in India, it is breast cancer! One wonders what air pollution has to do with breast cancer? But here is a very shocking report to look at that due to air pollution, women in India have a 28% chance of getting breast cancer. And if there is no change in air pollution, by the year 2030, more than two million women in India will be victims of breast cancer!
In all this, there is no discussion about how air pollution affects pregnant ladies, infants, or small children. Otherwise, such data and statistics will make us restless insomniacs. But here the most important question is that if such statistics are coming in the country regarding air pollution, then what steps are being taken against it? So the Delhi government has given a holiday in schools till November 15th! Fifty percent of the staff of government and private offices were ordered to work from home! Smogguns and water sprinklers for trees are being experimented with in various areas by Mumbai and Delhi municipalities. Strict orders have been passed to shut down various construction sites for fifteen days!
These steps are like taking no action as they can't get a permanent solution to this issue. This is an attempt to suppress the uproar that will be created in the media only for a few days. See, how serious we are about air pollution! But can any of these measures prevent air pollution? In this case, the damage will increase. It will pose a threat to the future of children if they study at home or have extra school holidays. If the concept of work from home is implemented, the productivity in various sectors will be affected or the construction sites will be closed what will happen to the livelihood of the daily wagers and labourers who are struggling at the very bottom of the society.
If the various state governments or the media have to do anything about this issue, then they have to keep a close eye on whether the policies prepared for pollution control are followed verbatim or not. All the sectors responsible for air pollution should be brought under a common minimum program. Be it automobile sector, realty sector, industries or agriculture. We will be able to defeat air pollution only if it is strictly ensured that the rules of pollution control are not compromised. Another thing to keep in mind is that air pollution is a matter of public health. So we all have to be careful that it does not become a political issue in any way. Otherwise, the TRPs will keep rising, but at the opposite end, lives will also be lost in large numbers.
By Viral Desai
(The author is a known Environmentalist and the pioneer of Satyagraha Against Pollution movement, viraludayindia@gmail.com )
(The content of this article reflects the views of writers and contributors, not necessarily those of the publisher and editor. All disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of competent courts and forums in Delhi/New Delhi only)
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