Page 30 - 29NOV2019E-4
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OPINION
Pollution woes add to our
ongoing survival struggle
Though the smouldering smog can be called as one of those levellers
DILEMMAS but even here money comes to the rescue of those well-equipped with
sagging-pockets. They have an array of products to boost air quality
HUMRA
QURAISHI
mog enveloping the capital fewer wants.Just two square meals and
city. New Delhi caught in that once –in a while dining out sessions
The Delhi-based writer that smog, human beings seemed to take care of everyday wants.
and columnist’s books affected, breathless and The skies up there looked blue .The
include Kashmir: The restless. Choking and cry- flowers bloomed. The human face looked
Untold Story. She co- S ing out, as smog tightens its carefree and hassle free…the human
authored a series of hold on our throats and chests…killing us form was still intact and those cravings
writings with the late in that slow steady way. for emotional anchorages were not to
Khushwant Singh and Inhalers and masks the urgent need be confused with surcharged sexual
her short stories are of the day, as citizens go coughing amidst releases. Those were the good old days
part of anthologies. cries …trying to survive in this façade- when we actually lived and lived quite
The views expressed ridden scenario where even encounters happily! Not like today where even the
are her own are turning out to be fake. Harnessing basic traces of survival are turning out to
of that tiny little mosquito or any of the be an ongoing struggle for survival.
strays loitering around seemingly impos- I am more than shocked when rulers
sible by all possible might under the state of the day continue to talk of growth, de-
machinery, so in utter frustration they velopment, longevity, and whatever else
hound and pound the two-legged human they can package in their package of lies.
being ,who is anyway dying a painfully In fact, contrary to their claims, today, in
slow death in these developed times! these so called developed times we are
And as I walked around, gasping in the more prone to deaths and decay.
midst of this haze, I came across several The environmental pollution is kill-
freshly opened medical outlets equipped ing our very organs. Not to overlook the
with surgical dens. Nah, not to be con- noise pollution hitting the very heart.
The environmental fused with surgical strikes, though not And the limbs cannot be left spared with
strays around. In fact, in these recent
too certain of the near killing sessions
pollution is damaging well-inside in the operation theatres. months wherever I have travelled local
Outside the hospital wards and operation residents have cried out, detailing the
each human organs. theatres, the dying and even the undying havoc caused by monkeys and dogs on
While the noise discussing death and the human destruc- the prowl. Blatantly attacking pedestri-
ans and intruding into homes and fields
tion in these developed times.
pollution is hitting Though this smouldering smog can yet there is nobody out there to harness
the heart, the limbs be called as one of those levellers but their moves. Shouldn’t the municipal au-
thorities step in? Shield the human being
even here money coming to the rescue
cannot be left spared of those well-equipped with sagging- from these deadly attacks. In fact, though
with strays around ... pockets. For them holds out an array of we talk of dengue and viral fevers but lit-
tle focus on rabies. Why? What’s become
air purifiers and conditioners and all
What’s become of us to those get- away destinations How many of us to be overlooking these deadly
be overlooking these amongst us can actually flee? animal bites and attacks.Today who cares
whether our flesh is ripped through and
Wrapped in nostalgia, wondering
deadly animal bites rather aloud: weren’t we better off in we die a painful death!
and attacks those good old days when ‘develop- LETTERS@TEHELKA.COM
ing’ or ‘under-developed’ we were with
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