GURUGRAM: More than 200 residents of various townships and villages in the city, including environmentalists and doctors, came together on Sunday at Aravali Biodiversity Park to discuss problems arising out of air pollution, and to demand the right to clean air.The residents called for collective action (they called it “Milke Chalo”), describing air pollution as the city’s most pressing concern. The participating environmentalists and doctors formed an expert panel and insisted that providing clean air should be part of the manifestos of parties in the upcoming General Elections. Children too participated enthusiastically, putting up a street play and a stirring song, “Neelein aasmaan mein, jhilmil hawa mein, yeh kaala rang kyon daala. Ruk jaao. (Under the blue sky, with rippling winds, why have you poured this dark shadow. Stop.)”, was sung by a group from the music academy Kirana Gharaana.Vijay Dhasmana of NGO ‘IamGurugram’ told TOI, “The aim of this event is not only to spread awareness, but also to take collective action and demand the right to clean air.” He also spoke of the importance of Aravalis in protecting the Delhi-NCR region from rising air pollution. “The degradation of the Aravalis is linked to poor air quality, water shortage and water pollution in the region. The solution is to protect Aravalis and other urban forests,” he said.“This is the first inclusive event where urbanites, villagers and neighbourhood schools came together for collective action. It’s extremely important, as we can’t have only two days of clean air each year. We need clean air all year long,” said Smita Ahuja of a citizen’s group working on environmental issues.Children said air pollution is killing them every day. Ronniet Biala (11) said, “Air pollution is like a weapon. It’s literally killing us. Schools are shut and we are restricted from participating in outdoor sports. My school is only 1km away from my home, yet I have to take a bus because roads are not safe and dusty.” Avira (9), who is suffering from severe effects of air pollution, said, “Who is responsible for this air pollution? Not only me. Not only you, but everyone.”Both urbanites and villagers reiterated the need to take steps at individual, community (RWA and panchayat) and city-levels, by raising awareness. They emphasised on the need for residents and authorities to work together to address the problem. Dr Himanshu Garg said, “If lungs are damaged, there is nothing we can do. Unlike in case of the heart, we can’t have lung bypasses or lung stents. Only prevention can help us deal with rising cases of respiratory illness. There is a need to introduce public policy that can help reduce air pollution.”Villagers said they are equally affected by increasing air pollution. “Rural areas are worse off than urban areas, as roads are dusty. Authorities should work on sources of pollution, not the symptoms,” said Surender, a villager from Aya Nagar. Vinay Shankar, retired secretary ( IAS ), Government of India, said, “We need to review the laws and policies on air pollution and enforce these properly.”Sarika Panda Bhatt of World Resources Institute said development shouldn’t only serve car owners. “Only 10-12% of the people own cars. Yet, authorities are building new roads every day. The problem is not masks or air purifiers . The only solution is to stop the development that simply entails more roads and flyovers,” she said.Many raised a need for proper waste segregation to mitigate the impact of pollution. Keshav Jaini, a resident of the Garden Estate society, said, “Air, water, and soil are closely related. If you pollute one, you pollute all. We produce huge amount of garbage in our country, and throw it all in landfills, which is the most valuable commodity our country has. Waste segregation must be done at source. Wet waste, which is 50% of all waste, should be composted, to reduce load of waste that goes into landfills.”The event also witnessed a question and answer session, in which the audience asked the expert panel questions on taking precautions, wearing masks, using air purifiers and nebulizers, etc.

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