Odd pollution, even solution

Supreme court is right to take up pollution issue, knee-jerk reactions won’t solve problem

Sometimes there are lessons to be drawn from history, even if it is the history of another country. In December 1952, atmospheric conditions coupled with rampant coal usage led to what was known as a ‘Pea Souper’, a dense, greenish-tinged smog that descended over the British capital. Much like the brown haze that has descended over northern India and Pakistan over the past two weeks, it was an environmental disaster. Both were caused by a combination of human and natural events, and it would be silly to discount the role that nature has played in the present crisis. But it was a crisis that our politicians should have seen coming and acted promptly to prevent. In London, an estimated 4,000 people died due to the direct impact of the smog mainly through bronchial problems another 10,000 people were believed affected. In India, pulmonary experts and pediatricians believe that the long-term impact on children whose under-developed lungs will suffer irreversible damage will lead to a shorter life-expectancy a few decades from now. And this smog hits the poorer sections of society hardest, who are unable to afford even rudimentary breathing masks let alone expensive air-purifiers.

But in 1952 London, the pea-soupers led to political action, with a Conservative politician Gerald Nabarro pushing through the Clean Air Act, 1956, with bipartisan support. The crisis led to birth of the modern environmental movement as we known it. In India, politicians from across the political spectrum have paid lip-service to the crisis despite knowing it was going to come. Maybe they did not anticipate that it would be so bad, but now we need non-partisan support to ensure this does not happen again and if it takes the Supreme Court to knock a few heads together, so be it.

One cannot ignore that Delhi/North India is a very dusty part of the world but we could work towards avoiding some of the avoidable factors. For one, stubble burning should be targeted not just with innovative solutions but by also questioning the logic of growing paddy in water-stressed areas, especially as water scarcity is shaping to be the next environmental crisis. Vehicular pollution is adding to the crisis because rampant diesel adulteration continues across India and that should be seen -- and addressed -- as a criminal conspiracy. Small industrial units and brick kilns still use dirty fuels; these must be shut down. Most importantly, people should realise that the poison our kids are breathing will effect the health and longevity of future generations. Even if the Supreme Court makes it difficult for elected governments, it is for the greater good. We owe the future that much.