Know the whole truth about the 'poisonous air' of North India! Photo-PTI
Smart View- Complete news, in short words
Digital Desk, New Delhi. The problem of pollution in Delhi cannot be tackled by considering it as a problem of one particular area. We have to understand that the serious situation of pollution in the entire North India is due to a specific geographical location. This is the problem of the entire Indo-Gagnetic Plain i.e. the Northern Plains.
The pollution situation becomes serious in winter because the natural ventilation of air stops. It is not that Delhi's pollution is limited only here. It spreads throughout the NCR region and other nearby states as well. Similarly, pollution from other states also reaches Delhi. Its contribution to Delhi's pollution is only 30 percent. The rest of the pollution sources are outside Delhi. In such a situation, to end the problem of pollution, we will have to first start from the hotspots of the cities of North India i.e. the places where there is maximum pollution. After this, steps will have to be taken according to cities and regions. Banning burning of coal, wood and organic waste only in Delhi is an immediate step, but we will have to make an action plan for the entire northern plains and implement it.
Not only Delhi, this is causing pollution in the entire country.
If Delhi's air is getting polluted due to burning of coal, wood and organic waste, then the same pollution is happening in the rest of the country too. In such a situation, unless we ensure the use of clean energy instead of fossil fuels in the entire region, the problem of pollution cannot be tackled effectively. It is true that we need coal to generate electricity, but now the time has come that we gradually move our power plants towards clean energy sources. Similarly, organic waste should not be burnt. For this, we will have to develop a strong system to collect the household waste across the country and make biogas or other things from it. We cannot survive by managing waste only in some cities. Now it comes to working throughout the year to tackle the problem of pollution. Generally, when it comes to pollution, it is only about Delhi and that too during the few winter months. This happens because pollution becomes visible to us in the form of haze during winter days, whereas the AQI for the whole year in Delhi is 126. According to the standards of the World Health Organization, the AQI for the whole year should be 40. This means that the pollution in Delhi remains four to five times more than the standard throughout the year. This means that we will have to work throughout the year to curb pollution and will have to work in the entire pollution affected region i.e. North India. It is not that no work is being done in this direction. Work is being done but it is not being done on the scale and speed with which it should be done.
What measures should the state take?
States will have to work extensively towards public transport, so that people can move easily and the number of private vehicles on the roads is reduced. Wood is still being used for cooking in rural areas. The government should pay attention in this direction also. You cannot deal with pollution by taking action only in cities because if pollution is happening in rural areas, it will definitely reach the cities. (Source: Anumita Rai Choudhary, Executive Director, Center for Science and Environment)