On their own in fight against toxic air
CAPITAL POLLUTION As Delhi finds itself orphaned in its fight against pollution, its residents are taking it upon themselves to find their way through the smog
NEWDELHI: Delhiites have been largely left to their own devices to fight air pollution in a city which, for the past couple of weeks, has become a virtual gas chamber. Here are the many things they are doing to cope.
TAKING THE FIGHT TO THE STREETS
The fight began on social media, with groups and communities on Facebook – such as ‘Let Me Breath’ and ‘My Right To Breathe’ – using hashtags as tools of mass mobilization. As air pollution levels rose again this year, Delhiittes wearing masks, held a massive protest on November 5 at India Gate.
“The protest took place within 36 hours of an angry message on social media by a concerned citizen. However, the vendors, the rickshaw pullers, the auto-rickshaw drivers – the most vulnerable group – were not present. They too need to be sensitised on how pollution affects their lives,” said Brikesh Singh, who has formed the Clean Air Collective, a pan-India coalition of organisations and individuals working for cleaner air.
According to Tamseel Hussain, who runs Let Me Breathe – a digital platform which crowd-sources pollution stories from across the country – 40% of the 2,500 video stories on the platform are from the national Capital. “The stories are more nuances now, unlike two years ago when people seemed to express vague concerns on pollution,” says Hussain.
According to environmentalists, the best part about growing involvement of the common people is that it has democratised the debate around pollution.
“This is helping build pressure on authorities. One positive aspect is that the conversation is also breaking out of the middle-class bastions, as well as the economically weaker sections,” said Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, Centre for Science and Environment.
HE CAME AS A MAN FROM THE FUTURE
Every Saturday, 23-year-old Nimit Pahwa dresses up like a “man from the future” and walks around the city wearing a heavy oxygen mask, a printed letter in his hand, trying to tell people how in the year 2030 fresh air and blue skies could become a subject of history books.
This Saturday, from 12pm to 7pm he was in central Delhi’s Connaught Place. A few were keenly reading his letter, which, among other things, says:
“It has been five years since oxygen masks became one of our face accessories and we are helpless.
“Scientists suggest that if we had realised our responsibilities towards nature a decade ago, the world could have been saved from a crisis.
“The idea is to tell people that a terrifying future awaits us if we do not act now. While a lot of curious people stopped and watched me from a distance, about fifty people walked up to me and asked about why I was doing what I was doing,” says Pahwa, who works as a social media manager for a company in Gurgaon. “One does not have to be an activist to take up an issue,” he says.
ADOPTING AN ANTI-POLLUTION DIET
Shobha Gupta, a homemaker in Jungpura, feels a change in food habits can help fight affects of air pollution. In the past two weeks, she has eliminated milk from her family’s menu. “Milk products increase phlegm and add stress on the respiratory system. I make sure we eat one apple a day,” says Gupta. “Of late, I have also incorporated more fruits and vegetables to tackle the effects of air pollution on the body. Even hot water helps,” she adds.
And there are many like her. Dieticians believe incorporating antioxidants into one’s diet builds immunity. Consuming anti-inflammatory food items such as ginger, turmeric, and tulsi, which they say can help a lot. “Along with a balanced diet of fruits and vegetables which have antioxidants, beta carotene, Vitamin A and protein, people must also eat a lot of nuts and keep themselves hydrated,” said Rekha Sharma, former chief dietician of the AIIMS.
A government school in Rohini has been making efforts to ensure some form of vitamin C is part of students’ diet. “We had distributed amla (Indian gooseberry) among our students and made sure they ate them. We must ensure they have some sort of Vitamin C,” says principal AK Jha.
TURNING TO MACHINES
It was after Diwali, when Delhi’s air turned from bad to worse, that Nandini Mishra, a 34-year old manager at a toy company, decided it was time to buy an air purifier. “I used to wake up sneezing, with and a nagging headache. I then got an air purifier. It helps me sleep peacefully,” said Mishra, a resident of Malviya Nagar.
Shops owners and e-commerce portals have registered a major increase in the demand for air purifiers and anti-pollution masks. E-commerce major Amazon said the demand for air purifiers tripled in the week post-Diwali this year. “Between October 31 and November 3 this year, we saw a three-time spike in sales of air purifiers, as compared to the same period last year,” said Amazon in an email response.
Flipkart, another e-commerce giant which started selling air-purifiers in October last year, says it registered a 55% year-on-year growth in this category. “Interestingly, we have noticed a pattern of consumers buying more than one air purifier for their homes,” Flipkart says in a response to an email from HT. The company says that the demand for pollution masks too has seen a spike of 30 times since last year.
Experts, however, believe air purifiers are more of a “fad” than a “necessity”.
Dr TK Joshi, health expert of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) task force, says even the WHO does not recommend air purifiers at homes. “We believe masks do a better job than air purifiers because the increase in pollution is mostly due to particulate matter and gases which purifiers don’t effectively trap. There’s no empirical evidence that they improve an individual’s well-being in the long run,” he says.
“Best way is to limit your exposure to pollution. Inside homes, activities that involve combustion such as smoking or burning incense sticks should be stopped when pollution is high,” he says.
ESCAPING TO CLEANER ENVIRONS
For some, Delhi’s pollution became so “unbearable” that they opted to go out for a few days. Prashant Arora, a businessman who lives in Gulmohar Park, left with his family on November 2 and returned on the 10th, only to find his child again struggling to breathe as the city’s air quality plunged further. “We had holiday plans around Christmas but changed our plans and left earlier,” says Arora.
According to travel website Yatra.com, the “severe” AQI has affected inbound travel. “We have seen travellers rescheduling their trips to the city. Booking inquiries to Delhi have slumped since Diwali,” says Sabina Chopra, co-founder and COO, corporate travel, Yatra.com. Chopra added the travel portal witnessed an increase in bookings – all related to travel to hill-stations from Delhi – by 17% compared to last year around this time.
‘PLANTING’ FRESH AIR
The Snake Plant, popular as the “motherin-law’s” tongue, Warneck Dracaena or the spider plant, Bamboo palm and Devil’s Ivy are some of the plants which residents of the city are turning to for combating air pollution indoors.
Anil Kumar, an employee at a nursery in Sunder Nagar, has started watching videos online to sharpen his salesman skills. “Most people come with vague ideas, so I have to be ready for demonstrations. These days, most people want plans that can clean polluted air,” he said.
Besides, there are many organisations that are conducting workshops to make people aware on the types of plants that can be kept inside homes.
One such organisation, Edible Routes, organizes workshops (it costs ₹1,100) on indoor air-purifying plants. “There are many reasons which turn our air putrid... Our workshops help deal with Delhi’s viscous air by elaborating on how, what and which indoor air-purifying plants work best,” reads the workshop invite.
› The protest (at India Gate) took place within 36 hours of an angry message on social media by a concerned citizen. People are now much more informed about various aspects of pollution than before.
BRIKESH SINGH, Clean Air Collective