Air pollution is detrimental to public health
Ever since globalisation set its foot in, one needs to take a critical look at activities that have taken place in the name of development. People have been able to access a lot of facilities in the name of modern technology. But the impact of this unabated development has been largely negative on the environment. Official statistics say one among eight deaths happens due to air pollution. Pure air is becoming dearer with every passing day.
A global survey indicates the average life of Indians is getting reduced by 1.7 years owing to pollutants in the air. Lung cancer, heart attack, difficulty in breathing, stroke, and diabetes are caused due to air pollution. Industrial effluents, unabated construction, dust emanating from sub standard roads, the carbon emanating from the vehicles, smoke that arises when garbage is burnt, all this has turned into a major threat to the prevailing quality of air in the country. Supreme Court has been issuing warnings to state and Central governments regarding this issue time and again.
Environmental experts and scientists, along with activists of social service organisations have been voicing their concerns in no uncertain terms regarding this. But the administrators who sit in AC chambers hardly care about this. Government issues license to businesses like mining which cause great harm to ecology. Influential politicians have license to those businesses that render irretrievable damage to atmosphere. Though this damages everyone, those who are sitting in corridors of power are totally deaf to this cause. Not just this, those sitting in corridors of power protect the wrong doers who are politicians and bureaucrats.
The level of this pollution may be less in Karnataka compared to other states, but Bangalore is all g those cities which suffers massively owing to air pollution. Compared to Delhi, Bangalore is home to more gardens and number of industries are very less too. But this city is home to over 80 lakh vehicles that can destroy the atmosphere. If this has to be checked, there has to be a cap on number of private vehicles that can be owned by people. In a city like Bangalore, a family of four members usually own four cars too with one car per member. This can lead to serious destruction to environment. Hence the government has to improve public transportation and reduce the usage and need of private vehicles. The wood fire stove used by people living in villages contributes significantly to air pollution.
North India has high instances of this. Hence the government has to provide every household with bio gas powered stoves or solar cooking units. If the waste part of crops is allowed to decompose in the soil, it would serve as a good fertiliser. Use of diesel generators have to be restricted. Pollution Control Board has a large role to play in this regard. But at the moment this agency is almost non existent. More than anything else, this issue has to become a prominent topic in election manifesto.
Without addressing these issues, spending thousands of crores on public health would be a total waste of resources. Not just the government, even NGOs and citizens groups have to be proactive in checking this menace. Mining is the most pertinent and majorly contributing factor to this menace. The result of unabated mining is not just plundering of resources, but also massive destruction of ecology. When mining took place in Bellary around the time when BJP government was in power, it rendered the whole area useless. Both legal and illegal form of mining thrived in this area. Since the most influential occupying high offices were involved in mining, it was difficult to catch and penalise them. Mining stopped only after relentless crusade by Justice Santosh Hegde and environmental crusader S R Hiremath.
Mining continues in many parts of the country beyond Karnataka as well. Influential politicians are behind this. Central government has entered into agreement on consuming the forest resources that was protected and safeguarded since many years in states like Odisha, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand and other resource rich states. So the tribals who were settled in those areas since ages have been uprooted. Those who oppose this are being shot to death. If the government is really concerned about ecology, it should stop displacing the tribals. Lip service isn't enough to check air pollution. Effective steps have to be initiated to ensure this is done in letter and spirit. Checking air pollution leads to improved public health. A healthy citizen makes for a strong country. Modi government does not have a clear environment policy. At least in the coming elections environment has to be made the election manifesto.
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Body of Bihar Police personnel found hanging in barracks in Patna
Patna (PTI): The body of a Bihar Police personnel was found hanging from the ceiling of a room in his barracks here, a senior officer said on Sunday.
Patna Senior Superintendent of Police Kartikeya Sharma said a havildar with Bihar State Armed Police-1, popularly known as "Gorkha battalion", died allegedly by suicide as he had been suffering from some ailment.
The deceased left behind "two suicide notes", one in Hindi and the other in his native language Nepali.
"From the suicide notes, it appears that Navraj Sunar, the deceased havildar, had been suffering from some ailment which had caused him much mental anguish and may have driven him to take the extreme step," the SSP said.
The body was being sent to the native village of the deceased in Nepal after a post-mortem examination, while further investigations were on, with forensic experts inspecting the site of the incident.
