Who will clean the air?

SydneyKate

Back recently from my third trip, loved it but I swear the pollution gets worse every time. This time was no joke as my 11 yr old got a severe asthma attack (parents beware, take all your asthma meds, my son had not had an attack prior to this for 6 years!).
My concern is really for the locals - how can their health hold out when in parts (eg Kolkata) you can just about chew the air?

soulfood

Back in 1998, Delhi was quickly becoming a nightmare of a city. Led by an NGO and with the intervention of the Supreme court a number of bold measures were taken that had a profound effect in checking vehicular poullution in the city. Based on this, I see three main ways in which city pollution is going to be checked:

• Cleaner fuels. Delhi has not worsened in the last few years as much as other metros thanks to the implementation of CNG fuels for govt busses, taxis and autos. Delhi has the largest fleet of CNG busses in the world. Euro 2 is already in implementation for new cars, and Euro 3 is going to be introduced soon. As other cities switch to cleaner fuels, the situation will drasticaly improve.

• Phasing out of old vehicles. Another reason Delhi checked rising pollution is because it banned vehicles over 15 years and older. Rising pollution will be checked with time as older vehicles phase out and newer vehicles following stricter norms become more common.

• Environment friendly mass transit systems such as the Metro in Delhi will reduce dependence on car. Work on Metro is going on in full swing in Delhi and is even being planned for other cities [Bangalore is next]. The govt is also considering Monorail as another alternative in Delhi. An active local govt and Commonwealth games to be held in the city in 2010 are driving Delhi's growth.

bijapuri

I too was stunned by my first visit to Delhi in a decade last year-Stunned at how much less pollution there is!
And yet, it is said that the current oil price spike has, as one of its primary causes, the fact that India and China are buying all the oil they can find to service their massive demand.
Something's gotta give!

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SydneyKate

Yes, I have to agree that Delhi was much better. Compared to the air in Agra and Kolkata it was really a big improvement. I hope something similar can be done in other centres. It was sad to see photos we brought back even from rural Madhya Pradesh, where you can hardly even see the horizon.I don't mean sad for us tourists but for Indians who breathe it every day of their lives.