Ashish Maheshwar, resident of Hyderabad participated in an activity organised by the volunteers - Happy Street. He was part of this event to spread awareness on air pollution, and it was his second volunteer event. While Delhi is reeling under severe air pollution crisis, other big cities in India are not far behind. Read about Delhi's crisis and what you can do here
We caught up with Ashish to ask him his views:
What causes the extreme level of pollution in Hyderabad during the winters?
In winter all the pollutants float at the lower levels unlike the summers. I have observed people getting sick during winter season, and especially suffering from respiratory issues. People living around the urban spaces in and around Hyderabad tend to have more problems associated with air pollution.
Why is Hyderabad important from the perspective of Air Pollution?
Delhi is most polluted city in the world. But Hyderabad is not far behind. Since there is a lot of construction in the city, the pollution levels have gone up significantly.
How is the public transport in Hyderabad?
There is not much public transport, mainly private transportation. There is a local train service, but not very well connected, and does not have very good frequency. The local city bus is also very bad and inefficient.
03 March 2015
Volunteers in Hyderabad participate in an activity to promote awareness on Air Pollution in the city
How did you particiate in the activity?
Volunteers and full time employees of Greenpeace, Hyderabad gathered near Necklace Road MMTS Station at 7 AM, Sunday, 1st March to spread awareness on Air Pollution. A huge crowd was gathered on the stretch from MMTS to becklace road for Happy Street, an initiate by Times of India. People were frolicking around at the venue enjoying the various activities planned for the event. Our volunteers spread out along the entire stretch, some of them dressed as Superheroes carrying placards. The Superheroes were an immediate attraction that made people freeze in their tracks and our volunteers were able to explain pollution, pollutants and the side effects of pollution to people who were wondering what was going on. Volunteers urged the public to increase greenery in their neighborhood and gave away free saplings. The plant’s draught-resistance was also discussed at length. Around 100 Saplings were distributed and the recipients’ details were also taken down to send them updates of our future activities.
The event coordinator, Ali addressed the gathered masses and spread the message. Meanwhile, local media channels and newspapers caught the action. Times of India’s Monday edition carried pictures and a short description of the activity.
The activity concluded at 9 AM and an internal feedback was collected on the success of the initiative. A special thank you should be mentioned to all the volunteers who arranged for the costumes and saplings as the success and reach of our activity could be attributed to the above two items.
Ashish Maheshwar is a volunteer at Greenpeace India, Hyderabad