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Delhi pollution:

Choke to death or

travelled from Jaisalmer to Delhi,
had a stopover at my house in plant to breathe
Ghaziabad for four hours and
then took a flight to Hyderabad on
Oct
I ober 26, 2018. Within the tran-
sition from railway station to my house
to the airport, I could feel the smoke
in the air and it was so bad that even
those few hours in Delhi were tough
to survive. There was a bad smell in the
atmosphere and one could feel it even
indoors.
Since past many years, Delhi has
become a gas chamber during winters.
The reasons for it are many. Its three
main contributors are:
Crop burning in Punjab, Haryana and
UP: The rice crop residue is being burnt
because it has no other usage. For in-
stance in Bihar, the rice crop residue is
a food for the cattle but the crop resi-
due in Punjab and Haryana is full of so
much pesticide and fertilisers that it
cannot be used as fodder. So, they are
left with no option other than burn- Crop burning, vehicular pollution and slow wind speed create
ing it off. Pracheer Dutta, incubated in
IIT Delhi has come up with a solution a smog and heavy pollution in the national capital,
to it. He has developed a technology by lowering the overall Air Quality Index of Delhi to ‘severe’
which crop residue or agro waste can
be converted into pulp which is used category at 401, writes prerna prasad
to make value-added products like dis-
posable tableware. So, he is putting an creating smog. be forced to migrate out of Delhi. My
effort to utilise the crop residue of Pun- All these factors along with slow home is in Delhi but I am writing this
jab and Haryana and make disposable wind speed create a smog and heavy piece sitting in Patna because I don’t
plates from it. So, what is being burnt pollution in the national capital. want to develop diseases by smelling
today causing so many harmful effects According to Central Pollution Control the polluted air of the capital. I have
could be an additional source of income Board (CPCB), the overall Air Quality the money and luxury to stay away but
for the farmers and would also replace Index (AQI) of Delhi is 401, falling in the majority don’t. So, both the government
plastic. ‘severe’ category. An AQI between 0 and and the citizens have to come together
50 is considered ‘good’, 51 and 100 ‘satis- to find some long-term solutions. Here
Vehicular pollution in Delhi NCR: factory’, 101 and 200 ‘moderate’, 201 and are few of them.
Delhi has the highest number of 300 ‘poor’, 301 and 400 ‘very poor’, and No more trees specially those which
vehicles in the country with a total of 7.6 401 and 500 ‘severe’. Eighteen areas of are 40 to 200 years old should be
million vehicular population as per the Delhi recorded “severe” air quality with allowed to be cut in the name of devel-
Delhi government. These vehicles emit the highest AQI recorded at Anand opment. Trees play the most important
lot of harmful gases thus heating up the Vihar at 467, according to data by the role in controlling pollution and pro-
atmosphere. The wind pressure during CPCB. Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon viding fresh air. The NBCC and CPWD
winters is high in surrounding areas of and Noida recorded ‘severe’ air pollu- projects of central government plan to
Delhi while it is low inside Delhi due to tion, crossing the AQI of 400. cut more than 20,000 fully grown trees
heavy vehicular pollution, thus all the in South Delhi. Aravali Biodiversity
dust from surrounding areas is attract- SOLUTIONS park having rich wildlife and birds is
ed towards Delhi. Much focus has been laid on the prob- in danger because of road construction
The wind from the Thar Desert in lems. Here are some of the long term by NHAI. Trees are being cut in several
Rajasthan brings lot of fine sand par- measures which we need to adapt if we other corners of NCR in the name of
ticles thus thickening Delhi’s air and want to live in the city. Else, we all will construction and progress. But, enough

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