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Wake up call on pollution

Kashmir Times. Dated: 1/20/2017 10:48:47 PM

Paris campaign of citizens to check pollution levels should act as an eye-opener for Indian residents of Delhi and its surrounding areas

The pollutant emission of harmful gases from vehicles and thermal electric plant in New Delhi and National Capital Region (NCR) appear to have reached alarming levels threatening the lives of the citizens living there. The estimated pollution levels have been hovering around 500 points in NCR and its surrounding areas during the past few years and so is the case with other metropolitan cities of the country. But this phenomenon has yet to be seen as a wake up call for the government in New Delhi and the centre for the reason best known to the concerned authorities. It was last year that the Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi experimented with the idea of odd and even numbered vehicles to be plied on the roads on alternate days did play an important part in reducing the vehicular emission levels for a few months. The Delhi government did contribute in an appreciable manner by supplementing the public transport system so that the number of personalised vehicles is brought down for bringing down the pollution levels besides ban on some of the models of small vehicles with diesel vehicles. The courts also intervened in a positive manner and allowed the government of the day to carry on with such experiments if they helped in warding off the threat to the lives of citizens in the NCR besides checking pollution levels for clean air to breathe. The number of vehicles put into service for commuter services besides the metro railways have definitely reduced the pollution in the air as they use clean energy and carry large number of passengers at peak hours compare to the traditional mode of transport and small vehicles which include cars and two-wheelers. As of now, the government and its agencies connected with planning process on commuter services front have woken up from deep slumber and started thinking in terms of alternate ways and means so that pollution of air is reduced to a large extent. But it is important to bear in mind that developed countries started planning Mass Transit System (MTS) as the cities began to grow to half a million residents to tackle future challenges. But this aspect has been totally missing in the Indian context. The metro railways network was started in India after more than two decades when they were already running in full esteem in Europe and other western countries.
Apart from this, there are also challenges before the planners for other towns which need a regulated development in the years to come not only in India but also in Jammu and Kashmir, which has been facing similar problems. It was only in the recent past that citizens stepped in and started raising their voice when pollution levels reached only 100 in Paris compared to 500 in Indian NCR. The residents of Paris have called for a complete ban on diesel vehicles and many others joined the campaign for voluntarily keep personalised vehicles off the roads. The residents also called for increasing the frequency of commuter services so that people do not face inconvenience for commuting within the cities. The citizens also started using bicycles and other modes of transport not running on petroleum products in order to contribute their bit for reducing pollution in Paris. Under similar circumstances, the citizens and the governments of the day have to join hands in the campaigns in reducing pollution into air so that number of ailments caused due to pollution is brought down at the earliest. The carbon emission also needs to be checked as has been observed by the courts in NCR in respect of the thermal power project, which has blamed for smog in New Delhi. It will not be out of place to mention that the public transport system needs to be supplemented in all the major towns of the country and planning process needs to be put into implementation right from the very beginning. In other towns which are environmentally sensitive the planners should keep an eye on the needs of the people in near future and long term needs of the people. Both the citizens and governments should join hands in this process so that they can meet challenges of future in a better manner.