[ninjatalli]

While most, if not all, of the posts lament on the poor state of the country (not only the top 15) highlighting potential causes and reasons, none are acknowledging the lack of individual ownership that also makes a huge difference.

Sometime back on one of the team bhp meets, I had highlighted how we take pride in driving long distances to these meets, plus quite a few drive alone. While this could be justified (which was clearly done in the numerous responses my post got), it reflects an attitude that we employ on a daily basis on our trips to office.

We lament the loss of forest cover but only a minority of the population actually gets involved in steps to do something about it. And there is a lot that can be done. For example, Mumbai bhpians have the opportunity to partake and support the very active group that is fighting for the biodiversity cover of Aarey colony that is under assault due to the metro shed and other reasons.

Not to make a political point against any party, but the current government is playing with fire wrt to the biodiversity, while giving clearances to numerous projects that impact the forest cover across the country. The previous government wasn't any better, although for a while (in my limited knowledge) Jairam Ramesh was doing a fair job. The bhpians who take an active interest in the political play could really raise this with their local representatives during the elections and later. This is very important; nothing really moves in our country without the political backing of the government in power.

Air pollution is only the start. If someone measured the state of water pollution, we'd be at the top of the world list in that too.

P. S. I am equally to blame. So when I'm referring to bhpians, I'm including myself in that lot.

[H_Dogg72]

Been an asthmatic since an infant.
Regular inhalers and nebulizer.
Started wearing masks, and using air purifiers in the car, home, and office. No more inhalers required.
Toxic air indeed.

[Hayek]

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

Sometime back on one of the team bhp meets, I had highlighted how we take pride in driving long distances to these meets, plus quite a few drive alone.

Mumbai bhpians have the opportunity to partake and support the very active group that is fighting for the biodiversity cover of Aarey colony that is under assault due to the metro shed and other reasons.

Air pollution is only the start. If someone measured the state of water pollution, we'd be at the top of the world list in that too.

Actually we need to look at the drivers of pollution instead of reacting emotionally. The biggest sources of pollution in the most polluted Indian cities are crop burning, road dust (because we don’t pave roads properly end to end and have rubble / rubble shoulders), and construction dust. Industrial waste and exhaust from CVs also probably contribute more than car exhausts. So, yes, we can all do our bit, but that may not move the needle.

As for Aarey, you surely have to agree that overall carbon emissions in the city will drop a lot more with metro lines around than with a few extra trees.

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by Hayek

Actually we need to look at the drivers of pollution instead of reacting emotionally.

It's about doing something than just lamenting about it and expecting everything to be done for us on its own. Nothing emotional about it, but doing something about it than just sitting on our asses.

The biggest sources of pollution in the most polluted Indian cities are crop burning, road dust (because we don’t pave roads properly end to end and have rubble / rubble shoulders), and construction dust. Industrial waste and exhaust from CVs also probably contribute more than car exhausts. So, yes, we can all do our bit, but that may not move the needle.

Globally, developed or developing countries, it's the individual (and collaborated) movements that have pushed governments to take actions. Lamenting about it on forums and social media hardly does the case. Be it more economical driving; pushing for changes in certain local issues (burning crops, construction, etc), everything counts for.

As for Aarey, you surely have to agree that overall carbon emissions in the city will drop a lot more with metro lines around than with a few extra trees.

Please understand the issue first. A bit of googling would help; the protest is about the shed and other storage/construction areas being moved to the multiple other non-forest locations than Aarey forest areas; not stopping the metro.

[born_free]

All of the cities mentioned are in north India which receive less rainfall compared to rest of country.
The dusty conditions prevalent in these areas without adequate rainfall can be a major contributor to pollution.

[arunramaswamy]

How come there are no South Indian states in those lists? Can it be safely assumed the particulates are due to stubble burning or heavy construction activity?

[antz.bin]

A large majority of these places barring the exceptions in Rajasthan and Srinagar are part of the Gangetic plains (we can also include Lahore and Dhaka as part of this set).

There is seriously something wrong with the region or the assessment process itself.

It's not as if these cities have more factories and traffic than cities like Pune / Bangalore which are also not coastal cities, but in the heart of the Deccan Plateau.

On an average, it rains more in the cities in the Gangetic plains than in cities in the heart of the Deccan plateau so low rainfall can't be a reason either.

I would really appreciate someone giving more insight on what could be the probable reasons. Crop stubble burning in Punjab is really unlikely to cause pollution in Patna or Dhaka which are 900-1200 km away. And if it does, why Islamabad or Indore doesn't feature on the list posted on https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/stree...ml#post4556342 (India has 14 out of the 15 most polluted cities in the world)

[neeravnaik]

With the elections coming up let us see how many parties make pollution a top 10 let alone a top 5 issue in their manifesto and think about ways to deal with it.

[am1m]

Originally Posted by arunramaswamy

How come there are no South Indian states in those lists?

I am very surprised that Bangalore is not on the list. I'm not sure how widespread the monitoring is in the first place and if there are enough stations that are checking air-quality-index. I know googling gives about 5 monitoring stations spread over Bangalore, but not sure if that's enough.

Even if most cities don't 'make it to the top 10-15', there's no denying that the pollution levels are pretty high. With all our vehicles (and yes, these are OUR vehicles, not someone else's problem), how can it be anything else but bad? The air on most days, doesn't 'seem' bad, at least in most parts of the city. But without enough data, am left wondering if my worries are imaginary or this is actually a case of 'the frog getting used to the boiling water' because the situation is slowly getting worse, not all of a sudden to cause a dramatic change. The time may come to say, ok the job and the money are not good enough reasons to poison oneself slowly and it's time to leave for the outskirts or somewhere far away.

[Chetan_Rao]

Originally Posted by am1m

...The time may come to say, ok the job and the money are not good enough reasons to poison oneself slowly and it's time to leave for the outskirts or somewhere far away.

Sensible thought, noble even, but you're grossly underestimating human nature to get ahead whatever the cost. The existence of this thread itself is evidence of it.

[BoneCollector]

With the current pollution levels across North India starting from Punjab to the whole of Gangetic plains, a slew of measures need to be taken and at the earliest.

Bihar Government has banned all government vehicles over 15 years of age and all commercial vehicles over 15 years in Patna metropolitan area. Link. Personally, I feel that this rule should have been implemented across the state as the pollution levels in my city has been hovering around 390-400 since last 10 days. The current levels are more than Patna.

[V.Narayan]

Guys who the hell is this Kuwaiti town "Ali Subah" ???

India should complain to the United Nations that this creepy town is spoiling our perfect record of achieving 15 out of 15. Here for the first time we could have topped the world list 15 out of 15 in something and trust the Kuwaiti's to come and spoil our moment of glory.

[BenjiRoss]

What can be done by regular citizens if they notice an illegal activity in residential areas that is destroying the air quality and causing massive pollution. This is stone grinding / stone milling work that has been going on for more than a year behind our residential campus in an open area next to lots of houses. As per rules this is allowed only 1 km away from residences and with specific guidelines. The owners have built a thatch but the grinding is done outside the thatch.
We've complained to the local police and the pollution control board who have written a lengthy response stating some of the machines have been moved away from the wall and that the owners / workers have been warned. As expected, there was a lull for a few days and now everything is back to 'the usual'.
Tweets and emails to the Central Pollution Control Board have not elicited any response.
What can we do as citizens?
This is a sample of the activity going on.

https://youtu.be/8L_27DYvqvI

https://youtu.be/-pUwYFzBtOg

Mods: i thought this was the most appropriate thread for this query and hence posted it here. Please move to a more appropriate thread if deemed necessary.

[BZ25]

From what I've seen, authorities have taken initiatives, but are not implementing them properly. Near my residence on Diwali, no crackers were burst until 8PM. Once it was 9, all hell broke loose. I went on a run the next day, came down with a severe cold due to inhaling smog.
Similarly, stubble burning has been banned, but the ban hasn't been implemented properly by the executive organ of the government.
From what I've seen, politicians from different parties are more interested in putting the blame on one another, than actually coming together and working for the collective good. But then, there are some who still don't believe in the concept of pollution and global warming.

[ruzbehxyz]

I dont know if my reply would stand good for this particular thread. But I want to draw attention to vehicular pollution. In Delhi, we can't drive diesel cars which are 10 years old and then the odd-even rules. These are the steps taken by the Government to curb pollution. Has anyone tried to check the quality of diesel or for that matter the quality of petrol and diesel supplied by the fuel pumps.
Is there any quality control?
How much of chemicals like Naphtha is allowed ?
Why are companies like Shell which provide more pure fuel than Indian counterparts, not allowed to operate in many cities in India ?
Why are always the consumers to pay the price and why cant the government check on the quality of fuel ?
Few days back I saw a video on WhatsApp where an electric bus was being charged using a diesel generator. What's the use of electric buses when we still dont have the instractusture.
These are some of the questions which need to be answered.