A polluted capital

While the methodology used by the World Health Organization (WHO) is disputable, what is undisputable is that the pollution levels in Delhi are extremely high (“Choking in the capital,” Oct. 3). A lopsided development strategy and the consequent unplanned urbanisation is the reason behind the mess in all Indian cities. What aggravates the situation further is that the mitigation efforts are equally unplanned. India does not have a proper Green Industrial Policy or Green Housing Policy till date. Vested commercial interests are squandering away whatever little the Government is spending on curbing pollution levels.

E .A. Ibrahim,

New Delhi

Delhi has been in the news for all the wrong reasons, ranging from rapes to dengue deaths to being the most polluted city in the world. A city is nothing but the people who live in it. We Delhites have to take as much blame as the government for the pollution, because of which the security of our future generations is being compromised. It is not uncommon to see a group of young people driving around in cars aimlessly, with the music on in full pitch, or a family sitting in a car outside a mobile eatery with the engine and the air conditioner on for as long as an hour. The government’s laxity and indifference to the issue is, among other things, a manifestation of the fact that a pollution-free Delhi remains a non-issue for the voters.

Ila Sharma,

New Delhi