26 January 2015
Smog at Republic Day rehearsals at India gate © Sudhanshu Malhotra
As soon as the news on India’s most-awaited chief guest for its 66th Republic Day was announced, the international media and the U.S. Govt were quick to take note of the levels of air pollution in Delhi. The U.S. Embassy in Delhi, equipped with an inbuilt air-monitoring station gave out continuous warnings on the high levels of pollution in the city and has discouraged President Obama from spending time outdoors. The day before his visit, the U.S. embassy had also ensured that several hundred air purifiers and humidifiers were in place to protect their President from the hazardous air. The issue of Delhi’s poor air quality has been underplayed consistently by successive Govt’s both at the center as well as the state. The WHO and the international groups argue that Delhi’s air quality is the worst in the world while the Indian Govt, despite its own data reaching new peaks everyday continues to be in denial of this fact.
Delhi as a metropolis is home to more than 22 million people who continue to breathe the very same air on a day-to-day basis that Obama is dreading to inhale. However, the ballyhoo around his visit throws open an opportunity for the citizens in India to express dissatisfaction with the Govt’s lax approach to curtail air pollution in the city.
Ahead of his visit, in an attempt to examine the real-time pollution levels in the city, Greenpeace India campaigners ventured out to monitor the air quality at the heart of Delhi. The findings were appalling!! Despite continuous rain in the city, the pollution levels were found to be peaking at three times the Indian safety limits. Does this mean cough and ill health for President Obama alone or do we as Delhiites have the right to care for our health and breathe clean air as well?
26 January 2015
NDMC (New Delhi Municipal Council) worker talks about health impacts of increasing air pollution © Sudhanshu Malhotra
Amar Saudhe, a 28-year old sweeper on duty at Connaught place has to come to work at 6 in the morning everyday as he’s the soul bread winner of his family and a father of three. As he briskly swept a pile of dust off the corridors at CP, he shared that there is a lot of dust in the air that can impact people’s health. “My children often succumb to severe episodes of cough, fever and constantly suffer from redness and watering in the eyes” he said. He also added that the watering of the eyes and eye irritation took place only when he stepped out of his house and he opined that it is because of the dust in the air. To cope from cough and sickness, he depends on the goodness of jaggery and natural remedies. However, he feels that a mask from the Govt could be of some help.
26 January 2015
PM (Particulate matter) readings were alarmingly high at 205.6 at Connaught Place, Delhi © Sudhanshu Malhotra
An interaction with the Delhi Police Men on duty at the Connaught Place, outer circle revealed a hapless, inescapable reality of their daily lives. A 50-year old cop from a small village near Kotputli, Rajasthan, in service for the last 18 years of his life shared that he has to leave home for work everyday at 3 in the morning in order to serve the people of Delhi. In these 18 years, he has seen the pollution in the city go from bad to worse and not once was he offered any precautionary gears or advice from the Govt to cope with the debilitating impacts of air pollution. “A health check-up is conducted by the Delhi police once in a year and they generally do a workup on the blood pressure levels and so on, but nothing to do with the lungs or any other diseases that we are likely to face due to exposure to severe pollution levels, we don’t even have a mask or a kit that we can use to protect ourselves”. he added. [The cops chose to remain anonymous to stay clear of any controversies]
The cops that we interacted with were from the Delhi Police Traffic unit, and the traffic police are known and seen to spend a large part of their day out in the open. The devolving health of these police men along with the millions of those who get exposed to the toxic levels of air pollution has hardly ever made news. It’s a sheer pity to see the woes of the commoners go in vain. We as Greenpeace hope that the hype around the Obama’s visit translates into a sustained debate on mitigating Delhi’s air pollution levels.
Aishwarya Madineni is a campaigner at Greenpeace India