World Environment Day is being celebrated on the 5th of June and the theme for this year revolves around a basic necessity of life – air. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the host country China, chose to highlight air pollution in 2019. Air pollution has plagued the citizens of India, with our cities being listed among the most polluted cities in the world. December of 2018 was a wake-up call for the dwellers of the City of Joy. The West Bengal Pollution Board of West Bengal pointed out that the pollutant concentration in Kolkata was higher than the national average on 176 days in the year, with some claiming that the air here, was more polluted than the capital of India.
What causes air pollution?
Air pollution in Kolkata has been a rising concern over the last few years. Small scale industries without proper waste disposal, construction, burning of trash and transportation are some of the issues that need to be dealt with to improve the quality of the air. According to a study, a major reason behind the air pollution in Kolkata is vehicular emissions. The high number of vehicles, along with the poor condition of some public vehicles like autos and buses has led to transport becoming a hazard in the lives of the people. More of diesel-based automobiles has also led to an increase in the pollution.
How can you help in improving the air quality?
While Delhi implemented the odd-even rule for vehicles, there has been no special step taken by the Government of West Bengal. However, every person in the city can do their bit and help improve the air that gives us life. Carpool/Public Transport: Pooling with colleagues, friends or opting for public transport is the easiest way to reduce air pollution.
Quit Smoking: Cigarettes are not only harmful to the one smoking but also for the others, and it is hazardous for the environment.
Automobile Maintenance: Upgrading your vehicle to make it fuel efficient and keeping a track of the pollution control by getting the vehicular emission checked can help improve the air quality.
Plant Trees: Trees give us life. They also clean the air by absorbing and filtering out pollutants.
Srijan’s pledge for a better environment
This World Environment Day, the folks at Srijan Realty chose to spread awareness about pollution with a short film that highlights the possible effects of air pollution in Kolkata in the near future. To watch the video, please click on the link below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRtcexXWe6Q
The management and the employees of Srijan Realty have also taken a pledge to use public transport, every Friday. This initiative called ‘Free Friday’ is a small step towards improving the air quality in Kolkata. We strongly believe that every little step matters and we urge you as well to take the necessary steps to help enhance the environmental conditions of our city and help our future generations lead a healthy, happy life.
