India has 15 out of 20 most polluted cities in world: Study
New Delhi: Fifteen of the 20 most polluted cities in the world are in India, with Gurgaon, Ghaziabad, Faridabad, Noida and Bhiwadi in the top six, according to a new study.
India's national capital region (NCR) emerged as the most polluted region in the world last year, data compiled in the new report states.
The latest data compiled in the IQAir AirVisual 2018 World Air Quality Report and interactive world's most polluted cities ranking, prepared in collaboration with Greenpeace Southeast Asia, reveals the state of particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution last year.
Out of the 20 most polluted cities in the world, 18 are in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, the report said.
India still has 15 out of the 20 most polluted cities in the world, with Gurgaon and Ghaziabad being the most polluted cities, followed by Faridabad, Bhiwadi and Noida being in the top six, with Delhi on the 11th spot, it said.
China's capital Beijing, once among the most polluted cities in the world ranked 122nd in the list of the most polluted cities last year based on PM2.5 data, but is still at least five times more polluted than the World Health Organisation annual safety limits of 10 g/m3.
Database comprising of PM2.5 data for more than 3,000 cities reminds us of grim health emergency the world faces from air pollution again after the WHO air quality database released last year.
The report identified some of the major sources or causes of ambient air pollution.
"Industries, households, cars, and trucks emit complex mixtures of air pollutants, many of which are harmful to health. Of all of these pollutants, fine particulate matter has the greatest effect on human health," it said.
"Most fine particulate matter comes from fuel combustion, both from mobile sources such as vehicles and from stationary sources such as power plants, industry, households, agriculture or biomass burning," the report added.
Environment activists have expressed concern and said government programmes to clean air should "do more than making political statements".
Pujarini Sen, an activist associated with Greenpeace India, said the report is "a reminder to us indicating that our efforts and actions to reduce the invisible killer".
"If we want India to breathe clean air, it is high time that our plans such as National Clean Air Programme, Graded Response Action Plan, Clean Air Programme becomes much more stringent, aggressive, legally binding and most of all implementable at ground rather than just being used a political statement without much happening at ground," Sen said.
Jyoti Pande Lavakare, co-founder Care for Air NGO, said Delhi and neighbouring areas have held dubious distinction of being the most polluted places in the world, so this report is not news.
"Delhi will remain the most polluted unless we make a concerted effort on a war footing from the top down to clean the air. What we need is a Clean Air Czar - an empowered, accountable authority whose single goal is to reduce pollution in our country through measurable and time-bound actions," she said.
"This is a national public health emergency and we cannot afford small, incremental progress. We need strong, focussed action that befits a real emergency," Lavakare added.
Ravina Kohli, environmentalist and a member of #MyRightToBreathe campaign, said the country lacks the "political will" to make public health a priority.
"Just because health issues does not historically convert to votes, politicians have slashed budgets, ignored this public health emergency and compromised citizens lives. But the cry of the most vulnerable and the most undeserved...#NoSaansNoVote... will ring through soon. Human lives will matter more than political gain if we have true leaders in charge," she added.
Ashutosh Dikshit, CEO of URJA, said, "Inevitable. Has been for a long time and people just nit pick over data and monitoring and research. The government fuels this confusion and has been callous.
"It is for the government to promote eco-friendly industries and construction solutions as well as hasten the usage of better fuels for automobiles, as well as two-wheelers that are also major polluters. The pollution control boards are toothless and ill-equipped," he added.
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Bengal awaits May 4 results; TMC looks to retain power, BJP aims historic win after record turnout
Kolkata (PTI): West Bengal heads into verdict day on Monday after over a month of frenzied campaigning, as it waits with bated breath to see whether the TMC manages to hold on to power or the BJP makes a historic breakthrough and claims the state for the first time.
As the EVMs open at 8 am, the CPI(M) and the Congress will be watching with equal keenness, hoping to reclaim a foothold in the state's electoral map after five years in the wilderness, following their wipeout in the 2021 polls.
Counting of votes will take place across 77 centres in the state, with elaborate security arrangements and a charged political atmosphere setting the stage for the declaration of results in 293 of the 294-seat House.
The Election Commission countermanded polls in the entire Falta constituency in South 24 Parganas district, citing “severe electoral offences and subversion of democratic process during polling in a large number of polling stations”.
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The fresh poll in that seat and the counting will take place on May 21 and May 24, respectively.
The two-phase polls in the state ended on April 29, with what the election watchdog said was the state's highest-ever voter turnout of 92.47 per cent since Independence.
Repolling in 15 booths in South 24 Parganas concluded on Saturday, with around 87 per cent turnout recorded, officials said.
The state’s political climate bordered on the vicious, even after the conclusion of polls, leading to fervent anticipation ahead of the announcement of results, with both primary contenders TMC and BJP, claiming they were dead certain about their victory prospects.
Courtesy the tight security arrangements – with over 2.5 lakh central paramilitary personnel on the ground, besides the presence of a thoroughly reshuffled state police force – electoral violence remained at a minimum, and no deaths were reported for the first time in the state’s election history of recent decades.
This was also the first election held in the state in twenty years, conducted after an extensive, albeit controversial, SIR exercise that revised the electoral rolls, removing over 9 million voters.
The jury is out on the impact of the exercise on the electoral fortunes of all parties across the board, prompting pollsters to burn the midnight oil to make sense of the likely choice of voters and keeping the public greatly enthused about what verdict the result day would deliver.
The campaigns recorded the BJP unleashing its full might, with top leaders like Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh launching all-out attacks on the TMC over corruption, law and order, infiltration, women’s safety and unemployment, while promising welfare measures.
The TMC’s retaliation, with the CM and party MP Abhishek Banerjee leading the charge, focused on SIR harassment, Bengali persecution and ‘outsider’ plank, accusing the BJP of failing to deliver on its national commitments and upholding TMC’s development report card.
Polling for the elections was held on April 23 and April 29, with a total electorate of over 3.21 crores.
The poll body has scaled down the number of counting centres this year to 77 from 87 announced earlier, and 108 in 2021, while putting in place a multi-layered security grid.
“Comprehensive security arrangements have been made to ensure that counting is conducted in a peaceful, transparent and orderly manner,” a senior EC official said.
The run-up to counting, however, has been marked by high political drama, with TMC leaders, helmed by CM Mamata Banerjee, rushing to strongrooms in Kolkata, apprehending counting malpractice and alleging attempts to tamper with the sealed EVMs.
The EC rejected those allegations, maintaining that all electronic voting machines are kept under strict surveillance with round-the-clock security and CCTV monitoring.
“Strongrooms are secured under a three-tier security system, and candidates or their representatives are allowed to keep watch as per protocol. There is no scope for any tampering,” another poll panel official said.
Closer to the counting date, security outside strongrooms has been further tightened, with the EC deploying 165 additional counting observers and 77 police observers to oversee the process and ensure adherence to norms.
In Kolkata, counting for 11 assembly constituencies will be conducted across five locations - Ballygunge Government High School, Baba Saheb Ambedkar Education University, Shakhawat Memorial School, Netaji Indoor Stadium and St Thomas Boys’ School.
Counting for the Bhabanipur seat, arguably carrying the highest symbolic weight where Mamata Banerjee is taking on senior BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari in a prestige fight on her home turf, will be held at the Sakhawat Memorial centre.
The EC has introduced stringent access control measures, mandating entry only through QR code-based photo identity cards issued via its ECINet system. Mobile phones have been barred inside counting halls, except for returning officers and observers.
The counting exercise will be conducted under a framework upheld by the Supreme Court, which on Saturday declined to pass further directions on a TMC plea challenging the deployment of central government personnel.
The elections saw the TMC contesting in 291 seats and its ally Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM), led by Anit Thapa, fielding candidates in three seats in the Darjeeling hills.
The BJP, Congress and the Left Front are gunning for all 294 segments, with parties like Humayun Kabir’s AJUP and Asaduddin Owasi’s AIMIM also trying their luck in some crucial pockets.
BJP leaders like Dilip Ghosh, Agnimitra Paul, Roopa Ganguly and Nishit Pramanik are in the fray, while prominent TMC candidates include Firhad Hakim, Kunal Ghosh, Madan Mitra and Udayan Guha.
