Our real interests

This blog is for my IIMA Batch mates.

This is second day after  Diwali. I am  in Delhi and struggling with pollution. The  air quality is bad, classified as severe.

I have  been  experiencing itching largely  on my face, neck and  shoulder area. This is allergic  reaction to the pollutants in the air.

Last  Diwali  we were  in Dubai and I escaped the pollution  of Delhi.

Last to last  year on Diwali night, it was quite bad. I had perceptible difficulty in breathing. In The earlier  years I did not  feel it troubling me.

Like me every one else  also  needs fresh air. This is our basic physiological need.

Who would  fulfil this need?

Clean air is a public good. I cannot have a private chamber where  I  have my own  oxygen cylinders  providing me fresh air.
At least  not in immediate future. And that scenario  severely restricts my mobility and quality of life.

I expect this to  be taken  care by the Government.

Our elected governments  have failed in this. All three - UPA, NDA & AAP.

Both  Executive and Legislature  have failed. Fifteen years ago Delhi air quality had gone very  bad. In some areas during evening I had   experienced burning sensation in my eyes.

Then Supreme  Court mandated  change over  to CNG for  public  transport.  We heaved a sigh of  relief. And for nearly  a  decade Delhi could claim as Green Delhi Clean Delhi. However  now we have gone back to same pitiable situation.

This  time also  Supreme  Court banned  cracker sale.
Though it had  some effect, it was not enough.

As a group what are our interests. Most of us have  earned  large amount  of  money and materially we can take  care of  our families  quite well.
In fact most of  our children are also  grown into  adults.

The entire batch has gone beyond 50 years of age. For us health  is emerging as a  key concern. Some of us have  health issues and are likely to face them more frequently.

At this  point our main  need  from the Government is clean  air. We can take care of water  by purchasing 10 to 15 litres of mineral water every day.

Do you  agree? If yes,  what are the solutions?
Can we  develop a new agenda for action?