We are breathing poison daily. The only option is to leave Delhi.”
Rising medical bills force residents to find unique ways to fight pollution
Ask any Delhiite how he or she keeps free from pollution, and the answer is a quizzical look! Because apparently, there’s no way to avoid pollution.
Saros Arora, a private schoolteacher, counters, “What do you mean? The entire city is polluted. How can one keep away from it? The only option is: leave the city! But that’s not a practical solution.” Thus, life goes on for both children and adults, as pollution continues to exacerbate health problems, leading to families facing rising medical bills.
“Once upon a time, I did not have any household help and used to broom and mop the floor myself, without having any medical issues. But for the past few years, I have become allergic to dust. My four-yearold daughter regularly falls ill because of the pollution. She has been on nebulisers and suffers from cough and cold,” the 35-year-old teacher said.
Both mother and daughter visit the doctor frequently — sometimes every alternate month. She said: “We are breathing poison every day. While I can still manage, I do not want my child to suffer. One day, the doctor advised me to keep indoor and outdoor plants in the house and balcony and see the change. I virtually turned my place into a green house with more than 50 plants and can feel the difference in the air around us. But the visits to the doctor continue, though not as often.”
Unregulated construction
Her sentiments were echoed by Tej Pratap, a newspaper vendor. “Even the early morning air in Delhi is toxic. For a couple of months, I worked in one of Noida’s posh colonies that had immense greenery all around. I never fell sick. But the inherently dusty air in Delhi, made worse by countless unregulated construction sites and piles of rubble spilling out on to the pavements, forced me to cover my face to guard against dust.”
Arun Kumar, a medical representative, is perhaps one of the very few who wears a face mask. “My job is such that I cannot avoid being outdoors for a long period of time. Pollution in the city is so complicated and aggravated that now it is beyond control. I wear a mask that has carbon, which can absorb pollutants. What can one say when even our chief minister suffers from chronic cough problem, not withstanding his odd-even car formula,” he said.
Mansi Mehta, a student and environmentalist, summed it up: “In Delhi, being progressive means simply buying a car! The biggest challenge is to make people realise that this fight against pollution is for their health and their own good.”