Politics of pollution

~by Prateek Goyal

Air pollutants directly affect the lungs causing lung infection, chronic obstructive lung disease, and lung cancer. This polluted air is aggravating conditions of the diseased and affecting healthy people adversely with headaches, itchy eyes, and irritability. The toxic fumes affect cellular pathways and hamper brain development in children. My pediatrician has sent her children to Dehradun. Who wants to stay in the gas chamber if not for bread and butter?

While the city chokes in what is being called a health emergency, Netas are refusing to stop playing the blame game. The Delhi Government is continually advertising in national newspapers that pollution in Delhi has come ‘down by 25%’ in bold letters but smoke from stubble burning is reaching the city. Arvind Kejriwal in a press conference alleged Prakash Javedkar that pollution is a “North India issue” and not a Delhi-specific issue after Javedkar criticized Kejriwal for “politicizing” the issue. Captain Amrinder Singh, CM of Punjab, wrote a letter to PMO to seek the Centre’s intervention. Manoj Tiwari sat on a hunger strike.

Amid all this political drama, the one who suffers is of course the common man. Politicians must understand they are what they are because of people. They should thus make it a point to serve people and give meaning to democracy rather than sitting in their air purified bungalows and pinpointing each other. Politicians rather than taking responsibility for their failure once again have stooped down to blaming one- another and doing too little and too late. Every political party, during LS elections, was undivided on taking suitable measures to grapple with air pollution but apparently to no effect. A picture surfaced on the internet in which the CM of Delhi distributed masks to children in a school on a stage as if he is giving a prestigious award. But actually, the mask symbolizes his failure to live up to his promises.

Man has divided land and water. But can he divide air? This severe air quality must affect the rich despite various filters. Aren’t we sending a tarnished image to the world while hosting German Chancellor, Angela Merkel in the city amidst all this pollution? I must question what do politicians actually care for?