Every winter, Delhi experiences acute air pollution. It is no exaggeration to say that it is like living in a gas chamber. Closing educational institutions on the bad days is only a temporary solution. Despite many theories, it is still not clear what causes this problem of smoke and smog. Surely there are environmental experts who should be able to pinpoint the major factors that make Delhi’s air so polluted. If the burning of stubble by farmers in Punjab and Haryana is said to be the main reason, then immediate action should be called for to stop this practice by providing financial aid and suggesting alternatives to burning in order to get rid of the residue in fields after harvesting. Vehicular pollution is another major factor. The odd-even rule for vehicles has had no major impact on air pollution. There is no alternative but to limit the use of private vehicles by encouraging people to travel by public buses and the metro, which needs to be strengthened as soon as possible.
D.B.N. Murthy,
Bengaluru
Air pollution in Delhi is not of recent origin and successive governments have failed in finding solutions. It is unfortunate that people here are caught between the devil and the deep sea and have to face hardship and health concerns as no authority is directly responsible for the mess they face today. A long-term and sustainable movement is necessary to educate all in Delhi about the perils of unplanned development and to conserve nature by planting more trees. There has to be a system in place to arrest the growth of motorised transport and other pollution causing industries. There have to be adequate safeguards to guard against dust generation.
V. Padmanabhan,
Bengaluru
Pollution control boards are turning out to be toothless tigers as they are increasingly failing to check violation of pollution norms. Vehicles, especially commercial and government owned, often ply without valid pollution control certificates. Even pollution checking centres are run without any proper machines and issue pollution control certificates in name. If a government can order the closure of 800 schools on account of air pollution, can it not act against pollution control boards and violators? Why do citizens have to face a dangerous situation on account of gross mismanagement?
Navneet Seth,
Dhuri, Punjab
