When I was praised for my last article, with an appreciation mail, and was asked by the YKA team to write about pollution, as December 2nd happens to be the “National Pollution Control Day”; as a budding writer (in fact a category below it), I was pleasantly surprised and happy, and did not even take 20 seconds to say yes.
But after the excitement subsided, the reality struck me. I began to brainstorm what I should write about; something which hasn’t been written or voiced out previously. I could not find or think of a single thing which has not been previously said about pollution and its repercussions.
But, sadly and ironically, things are just being said and written about by the masses. Period. The implementation doesn’t seem to be even one-millionth portion of all this.
Around 10 days back, when Delhi was badly hit by smog; as a part of typical daily routine, I got ready for office and went to the entrance gate of my society. That day, the society guard was wearing a big mask and seemed extremely troubled. When I asked him he said “Madam ji kya batau yahan bahar baithna padta hai and main saans bhi nai le paa raha hu”. (Ma’am, what can I say, I have to sit outside and I can’t even breathe here.) These were his exact words.
On reaching office; one of my colleagues, who comes by her scooty, narrated the entire story of how she was feeling suffocated when she had to stop at the red light with burning in her eyes. And even I was not spared. I have a completely choked throat since days, and neither antibiotics nor my mum’s home remedies, are working. Even the doctor confirmed that there is nothing wrong with my throat; it is just congestion due to an allergic reaction, and I am supposed to wear a mask when I go out.
I purposely wrote the above story to add to your boredom, because I wanted to make it black and white; that the pollution havoc is very much a true and harsh reality.
Evaluating Government Action On Pollution Control
Let me first put forth the government’s angle. Well, it is not a good one. The burning of crops has been going on for years, with fake promises of strict actions.
The blame game and political red flags are never-ending. I did not see any water sprinklers to control the situation or minimise the impact. I did not even see many contributions of the odd-even scheme, which again, hardly seemed to be working. The court’s reaction and fury towards government negligence have come way too late and seem unclear.
The issuance of green-coloured, number plates for electric cars, with zero-emission and with few incentives to the drivers, is supposedly a good measure, but certainly not with an immediate result, which is the need of the hour.
Then again, FASTag for vehicles will certainly help in burning less fuel, and as evident by a poll I created; many people are in favour of it. But, I see a lack of machinery or backup, to deal with immediate problems, of time lag, in receiving the FASTag. Also, truck owners are not digitisation friendly. All in all, the measures that have been taken are too scanty and uncertain.
Citizen’s Role In Pollution Control
Coming to the citizen’s role; sadly, while our contributions might be a bit better than the government’s, they are certainly not great. Carpooling is still not acceptable by many. Bursting crackers on Diwali might have been less this year but it was very much present.
Most of the people have surrendered to the fact that things are not going to change and so there is no point in trying. This is evident from the fact that so-called “Oxy Bars”, which supply 15-20 minutes of fresh Oxygen, for a rejuvenating experience, are minting money. Since people have accepted the fact that the real thing (i.e. Oxygen) is not available; and this is the best we can have.
In addition, people are ready to pay a handsome amount of money to their gardeners so that they are able to breathe in some O2. Since working from home is not feasible all the time, many companies have received transfer requests from employees; even if it is on a low pay package.
Families who have elderly people or small children in their homes are very much contemplating shifting to other places, to save themselves and their families from the toxic air. So, the gist is this: measures being taken are less and acceptance or avoidance is more.
If the situation needs to be improved it has to be a cumulative effort by everyone. The government will have to bring in stricter norms and make their implementation mandatory.
The citizens will have to avoid burning of any sort. Rooftop gardens have to be encouraged. A “leave your vehicles at home” policy will have to be adopted. Factories which have toxic emissions must be allowed to be set up, only in areas which are far from communities. More energy-efficient devices and vehicles will have to be developed.
The models displayed by students, of various grades, across the country, in various exhibitions, on avoiding pollution and recycling need to be converted into reality.
If the above is not done, then all the marches, protests, posters, hoardings, awareness speeches and articles (including this one) will be a waste and will have a short-lived life span, just like ours.
Here are two simple hacks that I came to know of, to reduce the effect of poisonous gases we are inhaling: (a) try to gargle before eating your food; hot water is easily available everywhere, and this will at least remove some of the pollutants (b) take steam before sleeping, otherwise the normal cough will become asthmatic in the long run.
“Jaag Jao Nahi Toh Kabhi Jaag Hi Nai Paoge” (Wake up now or you might be asleep forever).