This child has learned to deal with smog!
LUCKNOW: The smog in the city may have discomfited many but for eight-year-old Vinayak, it has brought a learning experience. He has learned how to deal with it as a kid.
The boy went to his teacher with newspapers cuttings and told her that outdoor activities could harm one during smog. Consequently, his teacher allowed him to skip field work. “My teacher agreed to the suggestion I made,” said an elated Vinayak.
“His effort worked as the teacher understood it was hazardous for children to play outdoors during smog period,” said Venkatesh Dutta, Vinayak’s father and an environmentalist.
Vinayak feels the smog is man-made. “We (humans) are burning garbage and polluting the environment. We should act responsibly in the society we live and as we use and consume things around us (such as air and water) we should keep them clean,” he said, adding: “I know smog will take time to get over.”
Their house has an air pollution monitoring equipment installed by a Delhi-based NGO that has placed four others in Lucknow. And for the little boy, watching the air quality monitor is routine now.
The weatherman has said the smog can end in the next 48 hours. “Keeping in view the weather conditions, it is expected the smog will end in Lucknow in the next 48 hours,” said JP Gupta, director, meteorological department. He said that during this time of the year, moisture increased in the air and when it mixed with pollutants in the air, smog was created.