Rising Air Pollution in Delhi: The crisis and Government actions by Mannat Malhotra

 

 Air pollution in major cities of India including Delhi continues to be one of the most serious environmental and public health challenges. Though government endeavours to take various measures but still the problem remains unaddressed. The AQI levels reach worst from bad. Experts analyse the situation like inhaling several cigarettes throughout the day. I heard some experts on television deliberating that the lungs of people living in mountains or less polluted places have pink colour while on the other hand the lugs of people living in polluted cities gradually turn blackish in colour.

 

The air pollution is increasing the risks of respiratory diseases like asthma and cancer for people belonging to all age groups. Taking steam every day to clean your respiratory tract has become a daily routine in homes.

 

When I travel abroad my eyes and nostril never burn. But I often go through these issues when the pollution levels are high. The stamina reduces, the nostrils become dirty with lots of dust and the eyes also burn. I have observed that the picture quality in phone is also hazy which shows that the vision quality also becomes poor.  

 

The Delhi government has taken initiatives like expanding the electric bus fleet, promoting public transport, smart parking pricing to discourage private vehicle use, increasing green cover, and decongesting traffic hotspots. The city has also deployed water sprinklers, mechanical sweepers, anti-smog guns, and strict dust control efforts to limit emissions from roads and construction sites. But despite all these measures the pollution level does not reduce significantly and all of us wait for rainfall to have some respite from AQI levels.

 

I do not know with population of more than three crore people in the city; how effective these measures are going to be. The race of governments to make Delhi increasingly affordable has drastically increased the population in the city. I think the government need to take some stern measures and stop the appeasement policies. The population burden on resources cannot be negated. The citizens also need to take moral responsibility in reducing pollution levels and contribute in making the environment ambient again.