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environment

Heavy taxes should be imposed on Do exercise everyday early in the
buying of new private cars to reduce morning or late evening as exercise
the number of vehicles on the road. keeps the lungs healthy.
Blanket ban on new diesel vehicles. One can buy Air Purifiers as a tem-
10 to 15 year old diesel vehicles should porary relief but personally I am not
also be brought off the roads. very much in favour of air purifiers as
There should be incentive towards it may clean the air inside but it pollutes
car pooling and shared cabs both by pri- the outside air further more.
vate companies and the government. Those having asthma or other lung
Do not burn the landfills instead de- problems must keep their medicine
velop a proper waste segregation and handy.
management system from its source. Tomatoes, apples, broccoli, spinach,
Alternative technologies for crop flaxseed are some of the food items that
burning like turning crop residue into will help in reducing the impact of pol-
disposable tableware should be en- lutants on your body. So, consume them
couraged and promoted by the govt. often.
Above are some imperative long- Wear masks when ever you move
term measures that govt must take to out of the house and carry it always
prevent Delhi’s air from getting spoiled with you.
further. As a citizen of the country and resi-
dent of Delhi NCR, I would plea Centre,
Measures should Delhi, Punjab and Haryana govt to stop
playing blame game. An Harvard study
be taken to suggests that crop burning is causing
50 per cent of the pollution in Delhi
• Air care Delhi has the highest number of reduce further but there is no denial in the fact that
vehicles (7.6 million) in the country concretisation of vehicular pollution and lot of other
factors within Delhi is responsible for
damage has been done to the city. Delhi the city. Even if this dreary situation. Global warming
needs at least 33 per cent forest cover there is a plan for and climate change primarily due to
as per National Forest Policy but it pos- cutting of trees and many other fac-
sesses only 20 per cent green cover- new construction, tors are also the root cause. We have to
age. We are already short of 13 per cent green building norms identify the root cause and take precau-
green coverage and still the govern- tionary measures so that the situation
ment plans to cut more trees. The govt should be followed doesn’t worsen further. Having fought
and the citizens must do as much plan- against the NBCC and CPWD mas-
tation as possible and the work doesn’t sive tree cutting projects in Delhi, its
end here. We need to take care of the Here are some temporary relief my strong belief that the existing trees
sapling till at least one year of its growth measures that an individual can take to which are over 50 and 100 years old
so that it survives. protect themselves from pollution. are the only natural protectors we are
Measures should be taken to reduce Since most people in Delhi NCR live left with that is saving us from this
further concretisation of the city. Even in apartments, they can have terrace environmental disaster. So, please do
if there is a plan to do new construction, or balcony garden. Also growing in- not touch any tree be it in South Delhi,
green building norms should be fol- door plants like Areca Palm, Lady Palm, Aravali’s or Greater Noida and instead
lowed. This can at least be implement- Bamboo palm, Rubber Plant can help in the focus should be on planting and
ed on all government constructions naturally purifying the air. nurturing lakhs of more trees to cre-
to start with. A minimum percentage People should try avoiding the use of ate a warrior against the pollution. As,
of green area should be maintained in private transport to reduce emission of the concrete buildings or the roads
every building. pollutants. that are being built will never help in
Public transport must be made more Try and stay indoors as much as fighting the pollutants rather it will
frequent. The number of public buses possible. increase it more.
specially the electric buses should be Please do not burn any crackers on
increased. People should be motivated Diwali, weddings or any other occasion. Prerna Prasad is an environmental
to use public transport by reducing Fitness of your lungs is more important activist and founder of Ecoplore
metro and bus fare and giving other than a fraction of excitement that that (Eco-friendly travel company)
attractions. you get after watching the crackers. letters@tehelka.com

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