Open kitchens in eateries add to Delhi’s pollution
NEW DELHI: Packed markets and a festive buzz in the air are not the only things that announce the arrival of winter in Delhi. A constant haze and poor air quality also come with it and for those of you who love street food, the danger is more pronounced.
The open kitchens that are part of every market in the city add toxic pollutants to Delhi’s already polluted air.
Soot, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, nitric oxides and sulphur dioxides are the primary pollutants that are released into the air because of the harmful practice of cooking food in the open, especially with coal, firewood and kerosene.
It, however, is not just street food vendors that are responsible for the growing problem. Restaurants that have open-air barbeques are also releasing toxic soot and particulate matter in the air.
Delhi was declared the most polluted city in the world by the World Health Organisation last year, bringing the issue of poor air quality to the forefront.
In 2013, Beijing closed down all barbeques and eateries that cooked food in the open to clamp down on pollution in the city that competed with Delhi for the title of the most polluted city in the world.
The dangers of cooking with unclean fuel have gained international attention over the past five years with several research projects running in developing countries to understand the problem and assess the associated damage. The problem, however, is mostly thought of as rural rather than urban.
According to environment department officials, firewood and coal burning could be penalised as per the order of the National Green Tribunal’s order against open burning. This action, however, has not been taken so far.
“The department has been focusing on stopping leaf burning so far. No direction to crack down on street-food vendors causing air pollution has come yet. This is not on anyone’s radar so far, it seems,” said an official.