The burning of farm residue in the States adjoining Delhi, and said to be a main factor behind the smog in the capital, is an issue that should be dealt with by the respective governments (“SC terms Delhi smog life-threatening”, November 14). They need to find the root causes behind the failure to find and use alternatives to this practice.They need to create extensive awareness programmes. Providing subsidies for buying machinery to farmers would solve the gross problem of a lack of capital. Looking at the issue through a farmer’s perspective and solving the issue will help tackle the problem. With agriculture being the prime moving force in India, the people associated with it should be dealt with accordingly.
Sophia Siddiqui,
Sagar, Madhya Pradesh
Here are some suggestions that the Delhi government can implement to try to fix the air pollution problem. Stop trucks from plying within city limits for about 12 hours. Vehicles using a fuel mixture of kerosene and diesel should be impounded and fined. All construction activities within city limits should be done with draping — this is done everywhere else in the world. The frequency of metro trains must be increased so that more people use public transport. There should be a ban on firecrackers. Move brick kilns out of Delhi. As the smog is choking Delhiites, we need to take some cue from countries where mechanisms are in place to spread information. In China, there are sirens that alert the public when the air quality drops. The campaign against the air pollution in the capital needs the participation of
all institutions.
R. Sivakumar,
Chennai
I live in Bathinda, Punjab and the pollution here is as bad as it is in Delhi. So, generalising this as a local Delhi-NCR problem is unfounded. For the same reason, targeting the traffic in Delhi NCR (odd even plates) would hardly help in alleviating the problem. As a scientist, my analysis is as follows: air pollution in Punjab, Haryana and Delhi recurs every year after year and is caused by two principal factors: stubble burning and local climatic conditions. Of course climatic conditions are beyond our control but stubble burning can be tackled.
Governments should ensure a market for stubble, which is agricultural waste. Incentivisation is the only practical solution. What is being burned is indeed rich biomass; it can be composted or converted to bio-fuel. Why do farmers in Andhra Pradesh or Kerala or West Bengal do not burn straw? Because these States have an active market for straw and other stubble. The administration should ensure strict law enforcement for the defaulters.
I am sceptical about the efficacy of interventional technologies such as cloud seeding. Many studies have shown that cloud seeding is ineffective when it comes to tackling air pollution. Unless we attack the root cause, nothing will help.
Felix Bast,
Bathinda, Punjab
