Political apathy as Delhi gasps for air

It’s an itchy throat and a cough that has been bothering me the last few days. My neighbour says her eyes burn and she keeps washing them with cold water, friends are back to wearing the N-95 masks from the Covid scare. The sun can barely filter through the heavy smog in the air and life has been reduced to one bare basic: a right to breathe.

Television debates are at their highest decibel with each political party blaming the other. For the people of this city, politics is the last thing we care about at this time. What is even more frustrating is that this is no surprise; every year around this time pollution levels peak and every year one hears the same debates. Once pollution levels go down, life merrily goes back to its routine.

Delhi’s average Air Quality Index (AQI) in the last few days has hovered above 400. The concentration of lung-damaging fine particles has been recorded to be around eight times above the safe limit of 60 micrograms per cubic metre, in many areas. Once the AQI crosses the 400 mark, it is considered ‘severe’ and can affect healthy people and of course make life even more difficult for those who have existing medical conditions. Life expectancy, many studies point out, can shorten by a decade due to this severe air pollution.

But then as citizens of this city, we are also a part of the problem. Firecrackers were banned during Diwali primarily to ensure that the air quality wouldn’t worsen. But in an amazing, brazen display of apathy, the city kept bursting firecrackers till the wee hours of the next day. The threat of a jail term and fines were not enough to keep people away from bursting crackers. And then of course politics waded into it and how a festival can’t be complete without the bursting of crackers. Sense it seems has died at every level. Let’s remind ourselves that an informed citizenry is the best guard to democracy and its values.

The Delhi government has decided to shut primary schools and has asked 50 per cent staff to work from home. They have also asked private companies to follow suit. Diesel vehicles have been banned in the city as one knee-jerk reaction follows the other. The state of Punjab gets criticized for stubble burning; farmers says they have no options, and political parties indulge in a new slugfest. And ordinary citizens rush to buy air filters and those who can’t afford to just adjust to the new normal in life.

Studies suggest that breathing the Delhi air these days is the equivalent of smoking 10-15 cigarettes a day. Delhi is also now the world’s number one major polluted city, a title we should all be ashamed of. The 20 million residents of this city will need to demand greater accountability from the governments, both at the centre and the state. Nothing will get fixed if all politicians do is sit on television debates every night and just wait for the air quality to improve. But we, the people, will also need to get our act together. Diesel vehicles have to go; we need to make an effort that the new cars we buy are electric. Stubble burning is a problem and till the farmers are given alternatives, they won’t stop taking the route that is both easy and cheap. It’s a good sign that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal accepted that it was his party’s responsibility to curb stubble burning in the state of Punjab and also that they would find a solution by next year. But experts point out that setting unrealistic targets might provide temporary political relief but it is not going to work in the long run. Now, the Supreme Court is also all set to hear a petition next week that seeks urgent measures to curb air pollution in the National Capital Area (NCA).

So, even as the judiciary steps in, and the executive branch of the government struggles to deal with this deadly smog, one thing is clear - more than air pollution that has often been called the ‘silent killer’; we need to worry more about apathy at various levels that has us all gasping for breath. If the apathy of the political class is overwhelming, so is that of all of us. This attitude of not caring and a lack of civic sense, so abundantly on display on Diwali night, is also the culprit here. Diwali is the festival of lights and has always reminded us of the ultimate victory of good over evil. Our houses light up every year around this time as do our hearts. And in that spirit let’s remember that the air we all breathe is the same. We need to take the first steps to become better citizens. Dump that diesel car for instance, and then question the people we elected to offices for not doing their jobs. Till then, this silent killer will continue to stalk us all.

- The writer is a senior journalist based in Delhi.