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Delhi, we discovered, is quietly suffering from a dire pediatric respiratory crisis, with a recent study showing that nearly half of the city’s 4.4 million schoolchildren have irreversible lung damage from the poisonous air. - - - Foreigners have lived in Delhi for centuries, of course, but the air and the mounting research into its effects have become so frightening that some feel it is unethical for those who have a choice to willingly raise children here. Similar discussions are doubtless underway in Beijing and other Asian megacities, but it is in Delhi — among the most populous, polluted, unsanitary and bacterially unsafe cities on earth — where the new calculus seems most urgent. The city’s air is more than twice as polluted as Beijing’s, according to the World Health Organization. (India, in fact, has 13 of the world’s 25 most polluted cities, while Lanzhou is the only Chinese city among the worst 50; Beijing ranks 79th.)

For the full text of the report in New York Times, click here.

Perhaps, Bengaluru too figures in the infamous list of 13 cities - alarming indeed.

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The expert consulted by Hindustan Times to get rid of Delhi’s killer air said that decongesting Delhi should not mean building more flyovers and underpasses, whose ability to reduce air pollution has been questioned. Instead, the solutions should lead to providing people with a viable choices to select alternatives to personal transport.

- - - Vehicles contribute about 40% to pollution. Studies show that one-third of the Capital’s children suffer from breathing ailments and air pollution reduces 3.2 years from one’s life in the national capital.

It also affects productivity of a person as it slows down cerebral activity. All this could be a thing of the past if Delhiites decide that electoral politics in the city-state will be decided on the basis of curbing air pollution.

For the full text of the report in the Hindustan Times, click here.

Delhi CM, Arvind Kajriwal, over the course of his interview by Barkha Dutt on NDTV (past week-end), readily admitted to the need for more buses, and, of all kinds and capacities, on the city roads, if the citizens are to switch to using them from their current dalliance with cars and two-wheelers.

A quick, back of the envelope, estimate for Bengaluru makes out the need for 70,000 odd buses to replace 33 lakh odd private vehicles - check the table below.

Similar would be the requirement for Delhi. And, it's not just the numbers; the management has to be professional too. The question that arises is, is a government-run DTC capable of meeting that challenge?

Hasn't the induction of private players in power supply made for a world of difference to the lives of Delhi-ites (for all of the pot-shots AAP targets at Reliance in pursuance of its vote-bank politics)? - check here. Could the city have even survived if the supplies were to continue under DESU monopoly?

Likewise, can the city afford not to induct professional private players into bus services? So, also, Bangaluru, and other cities, too (check this)?

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Reddy said the government has approved the release of Rs 3,500 crore to the BBMP under various grants to asphalt and develop city roads, construct flyovers and underpasses for better traffic flow. - - - - He said other works including three elevated steel bridges (Shivananda Circle, Ejipura and JC Road), signal-free corridor at Okalipuram and other works will also be taken up. “Funds of Rs 1,500 crore will be released under Nagarottana scheme. The Chief Minister had announced another Rs 1,000 crore where works will be taken by PWD and remaining Rs 1,000 crore is for ongoing works,” he said.

For the full text of the report in the New Indian Express, click here.

We are still talking of fly-overs, underpasses, as also widening of carriage ways by narrowing footpaths, etc to accommodate more and more cars, even with every study (including the one cited in the report mentioned in the post above) stating interalia that "most flyovers have reached their optimal level much before the estimated time".

Our neta's obviously are on a different trip altogether.

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Union environment ministry, which generally avoids sharing details of air pollution-linked deaths, made an exception on Thursday when it said in Parliament that more than 35,000 people had died due to acute respiratory infections (ARI) across India in close to 10 years. More than 2.6 crore cases were reported every year during the period.

Although international studies have attributed far more deaths to air pollution in India, this was a rare official admission that pollution could be causing deaths on a large scale. The number of annual ARI cases reported by environment and forest minister Prakash Javadekar was high by any measure.

For the full text of the report in the ToI, click here.

There can't be a more emphatic an argument favoring professionalised public bus transport services (as sufficiently elabored upon in my post of 9th June - scroll above) than the above. The important question is when are the people going to awaken to this reality, and demand the same from the powers that be.

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Volkswagen played a leading role in convincing people to accept a technology that in many countries is causing a precipitous decline in air quality for millions of city-dwellers: the diesel engine.

For the full text of the column by TARAS GRESCOE in the New York Times, click here.

Well, diesel cars have certainly to go right away. But, for heavy vehicles, there perhaps is not ready substitute. However, there appears to be a new awakening, and hopefully, the entire mobility scenario is set to be re-invented in the near future.

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