Need Political Will To Tackle Pollution, Don't Blame Common Man, Says Environmentalist

While the resident's of Delhi and NCR are barely able to breathe and many are blaming fire crackers for worsening the air quality, Vikrant Tongar, an environmentalist - who has been rallying against pollution for years - believes that the common people who are being blamed for bursting firecrackers are actually not at fault.

Speaking to Indiatimes, Tongar said, "Diwali is not a major source of pollution for Delhi, the actual pollutants are the emissions from vehicles, the burning of crops in Punjab and Haryana and character of the soil of Delhi."

"Combating air pollution is not a common man's issue, it has to be countered with political and administrative will."

AFP

"We have been fighting a legal battle to regularise the burning of stubble in Punjab and Haryana to twice a year. The government has also offered a subsidy for buying the crop residue and has tried to create awareness among the farmers on the benefits of letting the crop residue stay on the field and help the soil retain moisture and act as a natural fertilizer for the next crop," he shares.

"As the season changes, there is a shift in air pressure which ferries the smoke from the two northern states into the depression above Delhi and some portions of Uttar Pradesh."

The only way to counter the rising level of air pollution are scientifically considered long-term processes.

AFP

"Despite a number of researches proving that certain types of vehicular emissions have been damaging the air quality, no steps have been taken to counter it. These show up as a very small portion of the total pollution index but are among the most toxic," he explains.

"Instead of checking these pollutants, the government and its bodies are happy to declare reduced index of pollution since 2014."

Enraged by the half-hearted measures taken so far to rectify the problem, Tongar asks, "What has happened to our tree cover? You can still find a number of trees in Delhi but as soon as you step out of the Capital, the green cover is gone. The government has places all of its 70 ministries in one cities. Who will account for the number of delegates coming to visit these offices, the resources that being chanelled to facilitate a city without sufficient resources to sustain itself?"

Pointing to the emission from factories as a contributor to air pollution, he adds: "There is no check on the number of factories that are creeping up in Sahibabad and the impact that they have on Delhi-NCR. The nature of Delhi's soil is such that there is a lot of dust in the air as the season changes and gets very dry, very quickly. It flies a lot."

BCCL

"My organisation is trying to create awareness for people to take better care of themselves. By sprinkling water around there homes to ensure the dust does not fly as much. People, mainly children, must be kept indoors as much as possible. Avoid heading out for walks, as you will be taking in more polluted air and damage lungs."

He also suggests an increased consumption of jaggery, as it helps in detoxification.

"It is best to leave doors and windows open only when the sun is bright in the afternoon, as that is time when the dust settles down for a bit. Take the steam of tea, if you feel suffocated and in case you do not want to use a mask, use your handkerchief which can also help you avoid 25 percent of the pollution."