So goes the lyrics of a song written almost 5 decades ago, little knowing that they would reflect the situation of not just Delhiites but entire north and central India.
Year after year, the spike in pollution levels becomes a topic of discussion and shrill debates around September / October, with little difference on the ground. The culprits remain the same, the excuses the same and thus the suffering the same.
According to reports, almost 30-40 % of the pollution is due to parali burning, about 20-25 % due to vehicular emissions, and the rest due to local factors such as polluting industries, construction debris and so on.
Yet, all the emphasis is on the construction industry and vehicular traffic, which together account for less than a third. Even then, the reaction is knee-jerk, stop construction, stop schools, stop diesel vehicles, but don’t stop the worst culprits.
Even so far as vehicular emission is concerned, why is there no clear-cut policy to promote electric vehicles? Why are polluting vehicles permitted on the road throughout the year, as if at other times it doesn’t matter? Why is construction completely stopped briefly, while the rest of the year it continues unabated without following basic norms?
The answer is simple, the politicians just don’t care. The policymakers believe people will make noise for a short while and then forget. It will never become an election issue as there is no vote bank. Because it affects everyone, the politicians do not care as there would be no consolidation of votes. And for this every party, as well as state and central government are answerable. But then who would question them?
The point is, if this is something that affects every one of us, should this not be the most important issue? Air pollution is as per WHO the most important single modifiable factor that affects both morbidity and mortality. Moreover, as per WHO, there are no safe pollution levels, so even when we are breathing air with an AQI of about 100-200 for the rest of the year, it is not normal.
But our mindset is such that we would vote for freebies, caste and religion, we would want privileges for our community, but when it comes to basic amenities such as clean air, we aren’t holding them accountable.
We as common citizens know the answer to “har shaks is shaher mein pareshan sa kyun hai”, but we will still not vote on the basis of clean air.
