CM Yediyurappa urges people to switch to green means of transport to curb pollution
Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Saturday urged the people of the state to shift from private vehicles to public transport, bicycles and walking to help reduce air pollution.
Noting that clean air and clear water was the right of every citizen, he said, "due to global warming and pollution, a clean and pure environment is becoming difficult, which is causing a negative impact on the human being and the earth.
"Hence, conservation of environment should be our priority," the CM said while launching the Clean Air Testbed Drive on Church Street in the city.
The Clean Air testbed drive is a joint initiative of the Directorate of Urban Land Transport, Indian Institute of Science and United Kingdom's Catapult Network.
Under this initiative, which will run till February 2021, there will be a ban on any kind of vehicles on Church street and only pedestrians will be allowed.
On other days, electric vehicles will be encouraged on the stretch.
Pointing out that at least 50 per cent of the air pollution in cities is caused by vehicles, Yediyurappa said Bengaluru has more than 85 lakh private vehicles, which increases by 10 per cent every year.
The Chief Minister said, "We can make our cities inhabitable by replacing private vehicles with public transport, bicycle and walking."
Every person should treat conservation of the environment as his or her primary duty and take an oath to actively get involved in environment conservation, he added.
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Anbumani asks PM Modi to ban sale of cigarettes for those born after 2009
Chennai (PTI): PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss on Saturday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take legislative measures to prohibit smoking and the sale of cigarettes to individuals born on or after January 1, 2009, thereby creating a smoke-free generation.
Anbumani, former Union minister for health and family welfare, said, "Once implemented, it (ban on cigarettes) will ensure that future generations are legally prevented from ever accessing tobacco products", he said in a letter to Modi.
"I write to you with a deep sense of urgency and responsibility, drawing your kind attention to a critical public health issue that continues to endanger the lives of millions of Indians, particularly among the younger generation who are affected by cigarette smoking", he claimed.
Stating that India unfortunately bears a disproportionately high burden of tobacco-related morbidity and mortality, he said, adding that, according to global health estimates, nearly 267 million Indians, approximately one in five citizens, use tobacco.
"Each year, tobacco consumption directly accounts for over 1.35 million deaths, while exposure to second-hand smoke contributes to a total of approximately 2.3 million deaths annually", he said, adding, "these figures are alarming and reflect a public health crisis of immense magnitude".
He pointed out that Scientific evidence unequivocally establishes tobacco use as a leading cause of cancer and numerous non-communicable diseases, including cardiovascular ailments, chronic respiratory diseases such as COPD, and multiple forms of malignancies. "In India alone, tobacco is responsible for nearly 40–50 per cent of all cancer cases, with over 4.7 lakh deaths annually attributed to tobacco-induced cancers", he added.
"In this context, I strongly urge the Union government to consider enacting a transformative law similar to that of the United Kingdom, that permanently prohibits the sale and consumption of tobacco products for individuals born on or after a specified year (such as 2009). Such a generational ban would mark a decisive step towards eliminating tobacco use in India over time", he said.
