In order to sensitise people particularly students about the need to adopt environmental friendly lifestyles, a national movement for clean air was organised at Jawaharlal Nehru stadium on Wednesday with almost 1,500 children from Delhi-NCR joined it.
The inaugural edition of ‘Good Air Summit’ was organised by the ‘Integrated Health and Wellbeing’ (IHW) Council.
Underlining that clean air is an inalienable right, experts advocated the need for concerted efforts to allow citizens access to breathable air. The first of its kind people’s-led initiative seeks to make environment a prominent public health issue. Justice Swatanter Kumar, former Supreme Court Judge and former Chairperson of National Green Tribunal (NGT), Dr Ajay Mathur and Director General of ‘The Energy and Resources Institute’ (TERI) attended the event.
Prakash Javadekar, Union Minister of Environment, Forest & Climate Change, who could not be present due to ill health, addressed the gathering through a video message. He said “We are a part of the environment and it is a very important part of our lives. Plant trees, save water, and conserve energy. We should make every effort to save our environment,”
Justice Swatanter Kumar said that there are at least 10 sources of air pollution that affect both outdoor and indoor air quality, starting from widespread construction activities, to burning of waste and crops, and vehicular pollution. But is clean air not a right of a citizen? “Is not essential to exercise the right to life as guaranteed by the Indian Constitution,” he asked?
“We are flouting what Gandhiji asked us to do that we should give the earth to our next generation at least in the condition in which we got it. We need to think about why there are no solutions to the waste disposal other than burning them - burning of plastic is carcinogenic and is the cause for most of the cancers,” he said.
“Through our campaigns, we have reached out to students and citizens across the country in a bid to bring about a change in public behaviour and make the environment a central issue in public discourse,” said Kamal Narayan, CEO of IHW. He further said that our campaigns in various schools gave us a fantastic experience and the enthusiasm of the students was infectious. “I believe children will be instrumental in bringing about a positive change in our collective consciousness towards the environment,” he added.
The Indian Council of Medical Research estimates that air pollution cause one in eight deaths in India last year, besides lowering the average life expectancy by 1.7 years. Air pollution causes an approximately 7 million deaths every year globally.
