Why cannot India control its pollution? |
Posted: November 19, 2018 |
At the beginning of December 2017 millions of people were watching a televised cricket match between the national teams of India and Sri Lanka, when the game suddenly stopped. The pollution in New Delhi has been especially strong and one of the Sri Lankan players could barely breathe. He leaned forward, put his hands on his knees and started vomiting during the live broadcast. It was evident that Sri Lankan cricketers were unprepared for the dirty air of New Delhi, which this week exceeded by twenty-two times the level of harmful pollutant particles that the World Health Organization considers acceptable. It was a shameful moment for India and the National Green Court, the environmental court of that country, rebuked the local government for organizing the party. "All the newspapers had had headlines that air pollution would be more pronounced. However, you did not take action. The players were even wearing face masks during the match, "the court said. “Do the people of Delhi have to put up with this?" A broader question could be asked: why cannot India, a country that has made considerable progress in the fight against poverty and aspires to be a superpower, control its pollution? The smog crisis affects the essence of the image that India wants to project abroad; is fueling dissatisfaction with Prime Minister Narendra Modi; it is a drag on the economy, and, according to a new UNICEF report, it could be permanently damaging the brains of children. The country's environmentalists recognize that air pollution is a multi-headed monster with many causes. However, they claim that Modi has not been able to respond adequately, and even that his pro-business policies, such as relaxing the rules surrounding construction sites, have made the problem worse. "Environmental regulations are being diluted to promote the ease of creating businesses," said Prerna Bindra, a wildlife conservationist. "The ecological concerns are not reflected in India's growth story. In some cities, we inhale poison every time we breathe. " At the beginning of November, the smog in New Delhi was so dense that you could not see the end of the street. United Airlines canceled flights for several days and authorities closed schools. People filled the hospitals with severe cases of cough. Some said that they felt like a hand was squeezing their throats. This time of year, with the arrival of winter, is the worst. Diesel smoke, construction dust, emissions from coal plants and smoke from huge rows of crops combine to form a layer of smog, thickened by relatively cold air and low wind. Some in the Modi team have been quick to attribute it to the seasonal factor. The Environment Minister, Harsh Vardhan, assured the people that the problem would be solved as soon as the wind started to blow. Arvind Kejriwal, the chief minister of Delhi (a position similar to that of governor), had a totally different attitude: he said that Delhi had become a "gas chamber". This is another problem. The different layers of Indian government - and there are many - are fighting each other while air pollution continues to seep through the cracks. "99 percent of this problem is due to a lack of coordination," said Salman Khurshid, a former minister and member of the main opposition party. "The central government only talks, but does nothing." Every year, in November, clouds of white smoke float above New Delhi. They come from billions of kilograms of crop residues, such as leaves and stems that are burned on farms in the neighboring territories of Punjab and Haryana in order to make room for the next plantation. Burning crops creates a quarter of Delhi air pollution in the winter.
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