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Air pollution can't be ignored in poll manifestos: Clean Air Punjab

Chandigarh, Aug 4 (IANS) Even as the season for poll manifestos seem to have begun in Punjab with the Akali Dal-Bahujan Samaj Party releasing its initial 13-point election agenda, members of 'Clean Air Punjab', which is a network of citizens and civil society organisations, on Wednesday urged parties to feature time-bound plans to tackle air pollution and public health issues. In a bid to highlight the rising air pollution as well as the serious health hazards faced by the people, a group of organisations, think tanks and civil society groups have joined hands to form 'Clean Air Punjab'. The aim of this collective is to work alongside the state authorities to help achieve clean air by ensuring all non-attainment cities across the state implement the Clean Air Action Plan. The collective has also expressed its displeasure with the Akali Dal-BSP manifesto, which was released on Tuesday, as it failed to address the issue of deteriorating air quality in the state. Air quality data reported across six of the nine non-attainment cities in Punjab suggests that particulate matter (PM10) concentrations were beyond safe limits on more than 50 per cent of the days in the first half of 2021. Punjab also recorded 41,090 deaths due to air pollution in 2019, accounting for nearly 19 per cent of all deaths, said a Down to Earth and Centre for Science and Environment annual study titled 'State of India's Environment 2021'. Samita Kaur, citizen activist from Innovative Farmers group, said despite facing its worst health crisis due to air pollution, the authorities were still not ready to accept the problem. "The air quality in Punjab has been worsening to an extent where air pollution has now become a major killer. Even during the second wave of Covid-19 lockdown when most industries were shut, Punjab's air quality was still a serious matter of concern," she said, adding the state's green regions such as Fazilka and Ropar had an air quality index (AQI) of 113 and 129 respectively, which are well beyond safe standards. "We need to accept that our state is in a health emergency and there is an immediate need for an intervention and prompting action to reduce the prevalent severe air pollution. Hence, as members of 'Clean Air Punjab' we want to strongly urge all parties to make air pollution management a priority in their election manifestos and to specify time-bound measures to protect public health from the harmful impact of air pollution," she added.

July vehicle regn, revenue in Kol top last yr’s on public travel fears

Kolkata: The number of vehicle registrations in Bengal this July — and revenue from it — has exceeded that of July last year despite a record spike in fuel prices that saw the price of petrol cross the 100-rupee mark per litre, with experts attributing this to a fear of using public transport after a devastating second wave of the pandemic, and ahead of an imminent third wave.Two-wheelers have seen the highest spurt in sales, followed by four-wheelers. In Kolkata, too, revenue from vehicle registrations has been higher this July compared with July 2020 and 2019, with the number of registrations more than that of July 2020. “It is surprising, considering people underwent pay-cuts and job-losses,” said Sharif Qamar, fellow and area convener, Centre for Sustainable Mobility, TERI. “But personal vehicles are being preferred to avoid the risk of infection in public transport. This trend, however, needs to be studied further,” he added. A senior officer of the transport department, too, said the increase in registrations was, on the face of it, surprising. “Last year, when sales started picking momentum, we thought it was pent-up demand pushing up sales. But this year, we cannot say that. We did not have a total lockdown and the restriction on movement was limited to a month-and-half only,” he said. A category-wise analysis reveals that the growth in registration was higher in two-wheelers than four-wheelers, while there has been a significant drop in the registration of heavy vehicles like buses and goods vehicles. “One of the sorry outcomes of the pandemic is a shift from public transport to personal vehicles,” said transportation expert Anumita Roychowdhury of Centre for Science and Environment, adding, “It is particularly relevant for Kolkata, which has the unique advantage of having a robust public transport system. But people are scared of Covid transmission, which has perhaps driven many to buy their own vehicles for reasons of safety rather than anything else. The shift means more personalized vehicles on the road, more congestion and more pollution.” At Kolkata’s Public Vehicles Department (PVD), one of the oldest RTOs in the country, the number of new registered vehicles in July was 3,249, compared with 3,078 in July 2020 and 3,531 in July 2019. The revenue this July was Rs 25 crore, compared with Rs 15.6 crore in July 2020 and Rs 18 crore in July 2019. In Bengal, the number of vehicle registrations was 90,957 this July, while it had been 77,343 in July 2020 and 1,18,036 in July 2019. Revenue this July was Rs 234 crore, while it was Rs 178.8 crore and 208 crore in July 2020 and July 2019 respectively. The period of growth is too short to draw a definite conclusion, said economist Anirudhha Chowdhury. “If the sale of vehicles sustains for a longer period with the same robustness, then it calls for an in-depth study. But it is, indeed, very interesting how fear of infection can transcend economic rationale in boosting such sales,” he told TOI.

Why India’s e-waste system needs change

India’s transition from a linear to a circular economic model prerequisites an urgent need to remove existing bottlenecks and evolve the domestic waste management system. According to the Global e-waste monitor 2020, 53.6 million tonnes (Mt) of electronic waste was generated globally in 2019, of which Asia was the largest contributor. The report found China to be the world’s top e-waste producer having generated 10.1 Mt of e-waste in 2019. The rising e-waste hills are no alien to the Indian sub-continent either. Not surprisingly, India is the third biggest contributor with 3.2 million tonnes. The monitor also highlights that albeit the high generation numbers, China seems to be faring much better than Indian terms of collection and recycling of e-waste. With the accelerating global expansion of the electric vehicles sector, the question of recycling e-waste batteries will soon assume gargantuan proportions in the waste management systems of different countries, including India and China. While both these countries boast of huge populations with increasing electronics consumption as well as a widespread informal e-waste processing sector, the management of rising e-waste differs. India’s transition from a linear to a circular economic model prerequisites an urgent need to remove existing bottlenecks and evolve the domestic waste management system. While the replication of the Chinese format is not the objective, the idea is to adopt a different perspective of policy making and enforcement of legislations to promote cross country learning for a healthy exchange of strategies and models in order to understand the applicabilityas well as the anomalies in the different national, socio-cultural and policy contexts. The informal sector China has a robust policy structure in place, whereby their informal sector coexists alongside the advanced formal recycling system. Following an incentive based mechanism, in 2012 China had started the implementation of the e-waste fund subsidy policy wherein a ‘advance disposal fee’ is placed on electrical product manufacturers to subsidize e-waste recycling and treatment enterprises. The collected fees is placed in the fund and then allocated to licensed recyclers to cover costs related to the collection and treatment of e-waste. This aided the dismantling of issues concerning environment protection and resource utilisation, under the extended producer responsibility (EPR) principle, and played a key role in the development of the e-waste treatment industry, effectively improving the recycling and resource utilization of e-waste. Such policy measures and stricter controls laid out with incentives for participants in the e-waste chain has helped to not only improve efficiency but has also contributed towards the decline of the informal sector in the country. On the other hand, while India can boast of being the only country in Southern Asia to have a specific e-waste legislation in place since 2011, the e-waste recycling system has suffered long due to gaps in policy structure. The Indian e-waste landscape is still plagued with ambitious collection targets but ineffective implementation results. With the presence of 312 authorised formal recycling facilities that have a treatment capacity of approximately 800 kilo tonnes (kt) of waste annually, and 31 authorised producer responsibility organizations (PROs) providing compliance services, the circuit is still run predominantly by the informal sector. While EPR did prove to be an efficient strategy to garner greater seriousness among various stakeholders to comply with regulations, the lack of incentives has proven to be a deterrent. The formal sector struggles with high costs and high collection targets.Further, private players, like those operating through PROs observe a limited role due to the low reliability factor of securing economies of scale in sourcing e-waste quantities in the formal sector. Imported waste China has moved much ahead from being infamous as the e-waste hub of the world due to inadequate management of the huge amount of domestic generation as well as imports of e-waste. In 2018, China banned the import of 24 grades of solid waste including e-waste, which was later extended to a ban on the import of all types of solid waste by the country in 2020. Rising e-waste quantities and lack of adequate processing abilities in the country led China to face environmental problems. The ban did have a positive impact, promoting an efficient e-waste management system. E-waste recovery and treatment companies upgraded their technology and the renewable resources industry were forced to upgrade to deal with the situation. As per the Chinese Ministry of Ecology and Environment in 2019, due to e-waste regulations and expansion of facilities, significant growth in treatment capacity and quality was observed with more than 70 million e-waste units being dismantled annually.In case of India, while the import of e-waste is banned, the refurbishment and re-exportation of second-hand goods is allowed. However, the differentiation between e-waste and second-hand goods is not very clear, making it difficult to ensure the restriction on e-waste entry. As per a 2020 study by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), the average share of electrical equipment in total imports is 9.62%. The import of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) has been increasing at the rate of 12.3% annually in the last six years, with 2019–20 witnessing a negative growth. The existence of a favourable policy in terms of an import ban while highlights that the foundations of a proper system have been laid, the ineffectual implementation describes the very reason of the need for a change. In sum, it is clear that a simple command and control policy has not proven to be a solution. Learning from the Chinese experience, India should imply a complete ban on waste imports to prioritise domestic management before any ecological catastrophe hits us. Further,with the dominant presence of the informal sector, a focus on mandatory collection targets may not prove to be an efficient strategy to enhance producer responsibility. Picking up on the positive components of the ‘Chinese model’, perhaps exposing the e-waste sector in India to an incentive based mechanism can accelerate improvements. The current landscape lacks the presence of economic instruments that promote as well as support the collection and processing system. Involvement of financial incentives like a subsidy for producers to support collection and recycling processes, or for consumers to deposit e-waste at designated centres, or even direct funding of recyclers will help to reduce and perhaps remove the laidback attitude among different stakeholders groups of the waste management chain. Initiating a cross country learning program can help India to not just gain the knowledge to make concrete and impactful changes in its domestic management and focus on developing technologies, but perhaps someday it may also help the country to lead the recycling agenda internationally. In case of India, while the import of e-waste is banned, the refurbishment and re-exportation of second-hand goods is allowed. However, the differentiation between e-waste and second-hand goods is not very clear, making it difficult to ensure the restriction on e-waste entry. As per a 2020 study by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), the average share of electrical equipment in total imports is 9.62%. The import of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) has been increasing at the rate of 12.3% annually in the last six years, with 2019–20 witnessing a negative growth. The existence of a favourable policy in terms of an import ban while highlights that the foundations of a proper system have been laid, the ineffectual implementation describes the very reason of the need for a change. In sum, it is clear that a simple command and control policy has not proven to be a solution. Learning from the Chinese experience, India should imply a complete ban on waste imports to prioritise domestic management before any ecological catastrophe hits us. Further,with the dominant presence of the informal sector, a focus on mandatory collection targets may not prove to be an efficient strategy to enhance producer responsibility. Picking up on the positive components of the ‘Chinese model’, perhaps exposing the e-waste sector in India to an incentive based mechanism can accelerate improvements. The current landscape lacks the presence of economic instruments that promote as well as support the collection and processing system. Involvement of financial incentives like a subsidy for producers to support collection and recycling processes, or for consumers to deposit e-waste at designated centres, or even direct funding of recyclers will help to reduce and perhaps remove the laidback attitude among different stakeholders groups of the waste management chain. Initiating a cross country learning program can help India to not just gain the knowledge to make concrete and impactful changes in its domestic management and focus on developing technologies, but perhaps someday it may also help the country to lead the recycling agenda internationally.

Unplanned areas have limited access to public transport: CSE study

A study by the Centre for Science and Environment said that unplanned and low-income areas of Delhi have limited access to affordable and efficient public transport services, compared to planned and affluent neighbourhoods. The study based on a ground-level survey in 16 planned and unplanned colonies stated that if the issue is not addressed urgently, it can further increase air pollution in the city. It also said that even the planned and affluent neighbourhoods are not up to the mark. "Comparison of locational advantages and disadvantages of settlements shows that planned settlements are 2.8 times better placed than unplanned settlements. Planned areas have, on an average, 1.6 times more road space and 1.4 times more open qualitative spaces. On the criteria of ‘interface between settlement and the city’, planned settlements are about 1.3 times better connected than low-income unplanned settlements," the study read. As per the estimates of the draft Delhi Master Plan 2041 (MPD 2041), the city’s population will be 27-30 million by 2041, and 50 per cent of this increase will happen due to migration and by then, Delhi would generate 46.2 million motorised trips daily, the study said. “If such a massive load of daily motorised travel trips are not shifted to public transport to achieve the MPD 2041 target of modal split of 80:20 in favour of public and shared transport, Delhi will remain locked in pollution and carbon trap,” said CSE executive director Anumita Roychowdhury. “This requires immediate improvement in neighbourhood scale accessibility to bus and metro services and minimisation of interchanges. The expectation of MPD 2041 that 50 per cent of Delhi’s population will be within the influence zone of mass transit by 2041 and mixed-use development will encourage shift towards public transport, can be fulfilled only if neighbourhood-level design and infrastructure improve for safe and efficient access,” she said. The study recommended that the government should work towards a city-wide deployment of integrated and affordable public transport services that deeply penetrate and connect neighbourhoods efficiently "Ensure buses and Metro services are easily accessible through walking and cycling and through feeders and intermediate public transport system that penetrate deep inside neighbourhoods. Integrate housing programmes with transport connectivity and accessibility requirements," it recommended.

July vehicle registrations, revenue in Kolkata top last year’s on public travel fears

The number of vehicle registrations in Bengal this July — and revenue from it — has exceeded that of July last year despite a record spike in fuel prices that saw the price of petrol cross the 100-rupee mark per litre, with experts attributing this to a fear of using public transport after a devastating second wave of the pandemic, and ahead of an imminent third wave. The number of vehicle registrations in Bengal this July — and revenue from it — has exceeded that of July last year despite a record spike in fuel prices that saw the price of petrol cross the 100-rupee mark per litre, with experts attributing this to a fear of using public transport after a devastating second wave of the pandemic, and ahead of an imminent third wave. Two-wheelers have seen the highest spurt in sales, followed by four-wheelers. July vehicle registrations, revenue in Kolkata top last year’s on public travel fears In Kolkata, too, revenue from vehicle registrations has been higher this July compared with July 2020 and 2019, with the number of registrations more than that of July 2020. “It is surprising, considering people underwent pay-cuts and job-losses,” said Sharif Qamar, fellow and area convener, Centre for Sustainable Mobility, TERI. “But personal vehicles are being preferred to avoid the risk of infection in public transport. This trend, however, needs to be studied further,” he added. A senior officer of the transport department, too, said the increase in registrations was, on the face of it, surprising. “Last year, when sales started picking momentum, we thought it was pent-up demand pushing up sales. But this year, we cannot say that. We did not have a total lockdown and the restriction on movement was limited to a month and a half only,” he said. The growth in registration was higher in two-wheelers than four-wheelers, while there has been a significant drop in the registration of heavy vehicles. “One of the sorry outcomes of the pandemic is a shift from public transport to personal vehicles,” said transportation expert Anumita Roychowdhury of Centre for Science and Environment. “It is particularly relevant for Kolkata, which has the unique advantage of having a robust public transport system. But people are scared of Covid transmission, which has perhaps driven many to buy their own vehicles. The shift means more personalized vehicles on the road, more congestion and more pollution,” she said. At Kolkata PVD, the number of new registered vehicles in July was 3,249, compared with 3,078 in July 2020 and 3,531 in July 2019. The revenue this July was Rs 25 crore, compared with Rs 15.6 crore in July 2020 and Rs 18 crore in July 2019. In Bengal, the number of vehicle registrations was 90,957 this July, 77,343 in July 2020 and 1,18,036 in July 2019. Revenue this July was Rs 234 crore, while it was Rs 178.8 crore and 208 crore in July 2020 and July 2019.

No Testing Kits, Covid Centres Shut, Oxygen Miles Away: Rural Healthcare In Covid Times

In rural Nandurbar, some primary health centres do not even have rapid testing kits; Covid Care Centres have been shut after the second wave abated, and oxygen access is miles away. Nandurbar: When Kalubai Valvi was bitten by a snake last monsoon in Sumbipada in Nandurbar district of Maharashtra, her husband Nimji did not take her to the primary health centre (PHC) in neighbouring Jangthi village. Instead, he paid more than Rs 2,000 to hire a vehicle to take her to the government-run Molgi rural hospital, two hours away. Valvi did the same when his daughter was bitten by a snake a few months later. Both survived. Kalubai fears for the safety of her six children during monsoon months when snakebites are common in rural Nandurbar. "Let's see what happens this year," said Kalubai nervously as the family sat watching a solar-powered television set. There is a reason why Nimji did not rush his wife or daughter to the Jangthi PHC. "There are no facilities there and there is no staff at night," said Nimji, a farmer with seven family members to care for and few resources to afford medical bills. The older Jangthi PHC was housed in a decrepit building and it was moved to a newer building in June 2021. But with no water or electricity, the centre is barely functional. As the pandemic's second wave peaked in May 2021, 53% of the deaths caused by Covid-19 were in rural India, said a report by the Centre for Science and Environment which pointed to the acute shortage of resources crippling community health centres. With a potential third wave now looming, we visited the remote tribal district of Nandurbar in northern Maharashtra to understand the challenges of rural healthcare. We are reporting our findings in a two-part series, the first of which detailed how unprepared Nandurbar's rural healthcare system is to deal with Covid-19 with expired medicines in PHC pharmacies, including injections for adverse reactions to vaccines. In this concluding part of the series, we report how these facilities are not even equipped to deal with routine emergencies. No testing facilities A snakebite can be even more fatal for a resident of Mandvi village in the Nandurbar district's Akrani taluka. Snakebite patients are referred by the PHC there to the Dhadgaon rural hospital, 10 km away, or to the Nandurbar civil hospital, 60 km away. Nandurbar in northern Maharashtra is a backward, predominantly tribal, district described as aspirational, by government think-tank NITI Aayog. It had also reported one of the highest case fatality rates in the state in the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. The state itself had been among the worst-hit in India. With basic needs unmet, rural Nandurbar relies mostly on quacks and private practitioners, we found. Snakebites are only one of its problems. We also found that most women in the district's villages had not had institutional deliveries before or during the pandemic. They mostly deliver at home without professional care because of the problems of accessing local healthcare. As for Covid-19 emergencies, many PHCs did not even have rapid testing facilities, let alone RT-PCR, ahead of a possible third wave. While the district administration had erected Covid Care Centres during the earlier phases of the pandemic, many are now shut which means a Covid-19 patient will have to be taken to the taluka's rural hospital for oxygen availability. But patient transportation, as we see later, is an ordeal because PHC ambulances are unreliable and rural roads are a mess. "The average walking distance to a PHC [in India] for most people is 8 km and many times this 8 km is in hilly areas. We have just 24,000 PHCs across the country, when we need around 125,000 more and the state of these PHCs is a joke--they are ill-equipped, ill-staffed," said Abhijit Vaidya, national president of Pune-based Arogya Sena that works in the field of public health. He pointed out that with a health allocation of just 1.1% of the national gross domestic product (GDP), it is not surprising that India fares worse than Bangladesh on rural healthcare. The World Health Organization suggests a health budget allocation of 5% of the national GDP, he added. Operating guidelines unheeded According to Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS), PHCs are supposed to provide outpatient services, 24-hour emergency services, referral services and in-patient services. The IPHS guidelines for PHCs list 24-hour delivery services, both normal and assisted, as essential services. This includes promotion of institutional deliveries and management of normal deliveries. Institutional deliveries are important to reduce infant and maternal mortality. Also, after the outbreak of the pandemic, a Standard Operating Procedure was issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare for the continuation of essential services. It stated that PHC teams are supposed to follow up with pregnant women, high-risk pregnant women, newborns, children due for immunisation and malnourished children on their needs. The SOP also stated that each pregnant woman is to be linked to an appropriate facility for delivery and in case of home deliveries, immediate visits are to be made by Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM) or Community Health Officers (CHO) to assess the health of the woman and newborn. We found that these guidelines were not followed. Rural health centres are also having a tough time with the Covid-19 vaccination drive. Poor power supply (for vaccine cold storage) and internet connectivity (for Cowin registration) are major stumbling blocks, as we explain later. Coupled with vaccine hesitancy, the pace of vaccination in rural Nandurbar has slowed down. The district has vaccinated 40.7% of those above 45 with at least one dose of the vaccine as on July 28 while 15 other districts in the state have done better on this front. Kolhapur leads the state with 74.28% vaccination. Home deliveries preferred Jangthi in Akkalkuwa taluka is one of the most remote villages in the district and while electric poles have been erected in the area, there is no power supply. The barely furnished new PHC building does not have water supply either which means that it is not equipped to conduct deliveries. Most women who live around this PHC choose to deliver at home, as we said. A visit to Sumbipada which is covered by this PHC showed that healthcare workers have been missing from work for a while now. Gulbi Gamer Singh of Sumbipada has two daughters, one four-year-old and another, six months old, and she has not had any visits from ASHAs (accredited social health activists) asking about immunisation or nutrition for her children. "They still haven't seen my children. Both deliveries happened at home. I wasn't given any supplements, did not receive any money (paid as part of Janani Suraksha Yojana for home births). I went and got my children vaccinated at health camps. My children have not received any nutritious food from the anganwadi in two months," said Gulbi, cradling her baby. Even Kalubai's six children were delivered at home. They did not receive any routine immunisation except for polio. he situation was the same in three of the five PHCs we visited. Pisibai Kalusingh Vasave was waiting outside Mandvi PHC in Nandurbar's Akrani taluka for her Covid-19 jab. A resident of the same village, Pisibai has five children, all of whom were delivered at home. "But the nurse helped us," said Vasave, alarmed when asked why she did not choose to deliver at a health facility. At the neighbouring Telkhedi PHC, the staff told us the outpatient department nurse can handle deliveries during the day but she is not available at night. Waiting an entire morning for a doctor At the newly inaugurated Bilgaon PHC, the staff complained of no power supply or internet connectivity that hampers their services, particularly vaccination and deliveries. The designated ambulance for this PHC had broken down for around six months in 2020. It is now available but those living in deep interiors still need to get patients to a decent road on a bamboo carrier. Bilgaon PHC caters to 11 villages with a population of 14,221. In Jangthi too, everyone, from the residents to the staff at its PHC, complained about the condition of the road linking it to Molgi where a dependable rural hospital is situated. The road was sanctioned under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, a flagship central mission to build rural roads, but now is no more than a heap of rubble and dust. So, villagers carry patients on a bamboo stretcher upto the spot from where a public or private ambulance can then take them to a hospital. This ordeal worsens during the rains when villagers have to use small dinghies to cross swollen rivers. "The old ambulance in Jangthi PHC was defunct for almost a year. Even when it was available, they would charge us Rs 1,500. Private vehicles charge Rs 2,000. We don't have a choice because we have to rush to Molgi rural hospital in case of any emergency at night," said a resident. At the end of a long journey, there is no guarantee that a doctor will be available at the PHC. "Even for routine outpatient consultations, people come and wait at the PHC from 8 a.m. onwards while the doctor never comes before 11 a.m.," said Batesingh Pavra, a resident of village Mal in Dhadgaon that falls under Bilgaon PHC. Mogra Khetya Valvi and her father were waiting for a doctor to arrive at the Jangthi PHC when we arrived there. She had been complaining of swelling in her body and exhaustion for almost a month. The staff suspects she is anaemic. Nandurbar reports numerous cases of sickle cell anemia, a genetic disorder. It was 11 a.m. and Mogra and her father had already been waiting for a couple of hours. The doctor finally arrived at 2 p.m. and referred Valvi to the Molgi rural hospital for a simple blood test since the lab technician at Jangthi was not available. Mogra and her father had to stay over in a neighbouring village, submit samples the next morning and later collect reports so they could show it to the doctor the next day. Acute staff shortage A look at the muster in Jangthi PHC showed one clerk and two peons had not reported to work since May 2021 while one of the two doctors had not shown up to work between June 10 and June 21. The PHC caters to nine villages or a population of 11,000. In Shahada taluka, Ratna Bhil, 21, had come to Padalda PHC with her newborn child, husband and mother-in-law. She had delivered her baby only 12 days ago at the civil hospital and had come to the PHC on this June day to get her stitches removed. She had to wait for an hour or so since the doctors were busy. The vacancies at the PHC and the two sub-centres in its campus include nurses (5), general nurse midwife (1), multipurpose health workers (4), lady health visitor or a visiting nurse (1), peons (3) and arogya sahayak or health worker (1). When IndiaSpend checked in the third week of June, the sub-centre in Malpada village in Akkalkuwa, another in Mandvi and the ones in Padalda were all shut during the day. A sub-centre is the most basic unit of the public health system. It is manned by an ANM and a male health worker. It caters to 5,000 people in the plains and 3,000 in hilly/difficult/tribal areas. (A PHC caters to 30,000 people in the plains and 20,000 in hilly/difficult/tribal areas. Each PHC acts as a referral unit for six sub-centres.) Latika Rajput, a Nandurbar-based activist and member of the state's core committee on malnourishment, described these conditions as "inhuman and a violation of the right to life". "The unavailability of basic health facilities, no guarantee of a doctor and many such issues at PHCs increase the chances of a referral to the rural hospital. When very critical patients reach the rural hospital, they are further referred to the civil hospital," she pointed out. Doctors said they are struggling to deal with shortage of staff and resources. "At night, only the peon and driver are there. I am there only sometimes. Nurses cannot stay overnight as they have no accommodation facilities. An ambulance is available because the driver is a local," said Santosh Pavra, medical officer of Telkhedi PHC. When asked about missing doctor signatures on some outpatient department (OPD) case papers at the PHC, he admitted: "The lab technician had to run the OPD for one day. I had asked him to. We (doctors) are having vaccination sessions every day. What can we do?" Basic Covid services missing According to the SOP released by Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare's (MoHFW) on 'Covid-19 Containment and Management in Peri-Urban, Rural and Tribal areas', PHCs have been given a long list of responsibilities including the supervision of Covid Care Centres for asymptomatic or mild symptomatic cases, as we said in the first story in the series. They are also supposed to be turned into Dedicated Covid Health Centres (DCHC) for moderate cases and are expected to have oxygen support. But PHCs were barely managing to carry out vaccination. "Without revitalising the public health system, if the government is thinking about giving it Covid responsibilities, it is a mockery of the people," said health activist Abhijit Vaidya. At the Mandvi PHC, we found that rapid testing kits for Covid-19 were not available and villagers would need to go to Dhadgaon to get themselves tested. Covid-19 patients who need oxygen too would need to go to Dhadgaon, contrary to the SOP guidelines. The PHC offers Covid-19 vaccination but there is no internet service to enter beneficiary details in the COWIN portal which tracks the national immunisation drive so the staff have to travel to Dhadgaon to make the entries. After a slow start, the immunisation drive is picking up at the PHC--we saw 30-50 people queuing up for jabs. The Telkhedi PHC did not have a rapid testing kit either and sealed vaccine vials were found in a plastic food container in a fridge at the PHC. Doctors said they were helpless in dealing with the chronic staff and resource shortages at their centres. "Rapid testing kits have not been allotted to us," said Pavra, medical officer at the Telkhedi PHC. At Bilgaon, the PHC has managed to vaccinate only 10-12 people a day so far which, the staff claimed, was an improvement over the initial months. Villagers here have to go to Dhadgaon for an RT-PCR test, results of which take at least three to four days. The same is the case if a Covid-19 patient needs oxygen. Rapid testing kits were however available here. In Jangthi, the PHC staff has been struggling to get people vaccinated. It had only managed 174 vaccinations by the third week of June. A rapid test is now available here. The ice pack for the vaccine has to be brought from Molgi rural hospital since there is no cold storage facility here.

RTI Reveals Role of Netas, Who Rush with Flood Relief, in the Making of the Disaster in Maharashtra

In the second consecutive year, monsoon landslides and flash floods across Raigad, Kolhapur and Sangli districts, amongst others, has created havoc in terms of human deaths and destruction of property and land. While the cloudburst and climate are definitely part of the problem, activists have been crying hoarse over issues such as mindless sand mining permissions, excavation of soil by cutting hills, massive tree felling to the tune of over a lakh of them for the purpose of four-laning of the 438-kms long Panvel-Zarap section of the Mumbai-Goa highway and, giving building permissions within the flood lines of the rivers. These are the larger part of the horrendous problem that is killing people, deluging and flattening villages -- factors that are responsible for climate change, they assert. While political leaders including Maharashtra’s chief minister, opposition leader and a host of others are making a dash to the tragedy-struck areas, it is just an eye-wash to keep the voters happy and show them carrots through measly financial compensations and promise of building retaining walls along water bodies! A Right to Information (RTI) query revealed that Kolhapur floods were caused due to 1,250 acres of red and blue flood-line area, a no-development zone, being used for construction activity along the banks of the Panchganga River. This was followed by a letter by Kolhapur activist Balkrishna Shelar to the National Green Tribunal (NGT), Delhi, which suo motu converted it into a petition and ordered the irrigation department of the state government to carry out a fresh survey to demarcate new red and blue flood-lines due to the changing behaviour of rains as the 2005 flood-line demarcation was no more relevant. The NGT gave a third reminder in 2020 as the task was not done. Finally, it has now completed 70% of the work. Says Mr Shelar, “The irrigation department has finished redrawing only 70% of the flood lines so far. What is shocking is that, in the 70% revised flood line that they have marked, the flood water in last week’s torrential rains, has gone much beyond that line, thus showing that their markings are incorrect. They have yet to draw the line for the remaining 30% of the river bank, which has seen even worse flooding in those areas, than the 70%.” That the increased threat of flooding during monsoon for Kolhapur citizens is mainly due to permission given on the low-lying areas of the Panchganga River is because, says Mr Shelar, “During the 2019 floods, the release of water from the Almati Dam was blamed. Strangely this year, the water from that dam saw a steady, regular release so there was no sudden opening of the floodgates. The Radhanagari dam is still not filled to its capacity so there was no question of releasing water from it. Then why did the floods become so catastrophic? It’s obvious that giving permissions to build in low lying areas of the river is responsible for it.” Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, who visited Kolhapur has directed the officials not to allow anymore construction in the river catchment area but Mr Shelar doubts, ``how far it is going to be implemented.” As for the present modern constructions that not only stand out like sore thumbs but have become a threat of life and limbs of the citizens, the CM’s solution is to build a retaining wall! As for the Raigad district, Naseer Jalal, who has championed the cause of the environment in this region has been fighting relentlessly for 25 years to halt indiscriminate mechanised sand mining, which also lead to small and big mangroves on river banks being eroded, amongst other ecological fallouts. He has used RTI over the years to procure information on tenders and proposals for sanctioning sand mining in ecologically sensitive river bodies but has finally knocked at the doors of the judiciary as a fresh tender just last month has been floated for the mechanised sand mining work predominantly in the Savitri river and Waghotan river on the border of Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts for facilitating boating in these regions. This, he says, is violative of the provisions of the Coastal Regulation Zones Notification of 2011. The horrendous floods in Raigad district are the more severe because of man-made destruction than nature’s fury. “Sand mining, indiscriminate soil excavation from the tops of the hills to widen the Mumbai-Goa highway, felling of trees – over one lakh of them -- to build this highway and construction atop the hills are the reasons why rain water gushes in a fury as all natural stoppages for erosion of soil and containing water along the slopes have been tampered with.” Sumaira Abdulali, Mumbai-based environmental activist and founder of Awaaz Foundation has been consistently sending letters to the divisional commissioner and collector of Raigad district. One of her recent letters’ states, “In spite of sand being carted away in large volumes and consequent drop of the level of the beach by almost 10 feet, land erosion and felling of trees, there appears to be no will to implement long term action against illegal beach sand mining in Raigad District.” While Jaleel and a team of activists propelled the state government in 2010 to bring in stringent laws for sand mining, a resolution of the Maharashtra government in 2013 made it easier to get mining clearances. Ms Abdulali had stated then in an interview to Down to Earth magazine that, “this new criterion is a blow to sustainable sand mining. The amount of sand generated by waterway-clearing will never be sufficient for the construction industry, and additional mining permits will have to be given, which will simply continue to damage the environment.” Sunita Narain, internationally acclaimed environmentalist has been consistently warning about wrong developmental policies in urban areas as well. She has stated that, “on the one hand, we are getting our water management wrong—we are building in floodplains, destroying our water-bodies and filling up our water channels. Mumbai or Chandigarh or Bengaluru did not drown only because of extreme rain. They drowned also because all drainage systems have been wilfully destroyed. Our city developers only see land for building; not land for water. Now, the changing climate will make this mismanagement even more deadly.”

This heatwave is not a weather blip

Searing heat, touching 50 degrees Celsius in the otherwise cold regions of Canada and in the western regions of the United States, has brought home the message — once again and loudly — that climate change is here and is about to get worse. Searing heat, touching 50 degrees Celsius in the otherwise cold regions of Canada and in the western regions of the United States, has brought home the message — once again and loudly — that climate change is here and is about to get worse. The heat was so unbearable and off the charts that it killed an estimated 500 people in Canada's British Columbia province. Then there are reports of the savage damage it has done to animals and other creatures. The inferno is now adding to the challenge of wildfires, threatening lives and properties. Europe is seeing a similar heatwave; it is predicted that this year's temperatures will be the highest since records have been kept. Yet another year when we have broken the previous year's heat record! The fact is this heatwave is not incidental or accidental — a mere weather blip. Scientists working with the World Weather Attribution initiative conclude that this heatwave "was virtually impossible" without human-caused climate change. They find that the temperatures were so extreme that they lie outside the range of historically observed heat records. They conclude that the frequency of this once-in-a-thousand-year event would increase with temperature rise, and when the world touches 2°C increase over pre-industrial ages, it would become a five- to 10-year event. What then is clear is this: One, climate change is happening faster than expected and we are certainly unprepared. Two, climate change is a great leveller — extreme and variable rain, increased frequency of tropical cyclones and heat and cold are hitting the world's poorest. Each event cripples them and makes them even more vulnerable and marginalised. But the rich are also not excluded from this revenge of nature. The death of people from heatwaves in Canada must keep reminding us of the tragedy that awaits everyone. Even as I write this, perhaps for the umpteenth time (my readers must forgive me), we have still not seen the writing on the wall. Our actions still do not match our words. The technologies to combat climate change are available — but they require application at a disruptive and transformative scale. This is what we are missing. I say this because every extra day of procrastination will make the task even more difficult. Take the case of rising heat. To adapt and survive, the rich in otherwise temperate regions will now invest more in devices like air conditioners to cool their homes. This will, in turn, add to the energy demand and, given that countries are still fiddling around with fossil fuel-based electricity, it will add to greenhouse gas emissions. We know that heating and cooling devices take up the bulk of the power demand in our cities today. In Delhi, research by my colleagues at the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) shows as soon as the temperature crosses 27-28°C, the cooling demand increases exponentially — electricity demand rises by 190 MW for every degree rise in mercury. With more electricity generation, there will be more emissions, increasing the temperatures even more. The vicious cycle will spiral out of control. This direct relationship between heat and energy has another dimension to it — thermal comfort or discomfort. This is not just about temperatures but also about how well-designed and ventilated our living spaces are. This is why even when temperatures are not so high, but there is humidity or lack of air, we feel uncomfortable and "hot". The fan makes air conditioner more efficient as it evaporates moisture from our bodies. It is about cooling but also about design. Just consider how traditional buildings were designed to keep out the heat; by designing for the sun and wind, and not against nature. They used orientation and shades on window — what we now call passive architecture — to ensure that buildings are protected from the glare; they used courtyards and open windows for ventilation. Trees provided shade, as much as other environmental benefits. Sadly, modern architecture built on glass facades and closed spaces for air cooling has shunned and dismissed this knowledge as unnecessary and backward. Then there is also the fact that more heat will add to water stress — for irrigation, for drinking and for fighting forest fires. As we pump more water from the ground or use electricity for transporting water, we will need more energy — further reinforcing the vicious cycle. This is why we must go back to finding ways of optimising local water resources; harvesting the rain where and when it falls so that we can reduce dependence on pumped- and energy-dense water. In the heating planet, this knowledge of living with extreme heat and cold without increasing the energy footprint of our living spaces and cities will be crucial. So, as much as we need to move away from fossil fuels, we need to make sure we can do much more with much less energy — this is the climate change challenge. The scorched world should teach us this. (Writer is Director General of CSE and editor of Down To Earth, an environmentalist who pushes for changes in policies, practices and mindsets; Courtesy: https://www.downtoearth.org.in/)

Delhi-NCR breaching ozone limits more often, says study

NEW DELHI: Ground-level ozone — a highly reactive gas that is particularly dangerous for those with respiratory conditions and asthma — is becoming more widespread in Delhi and the rest of National Capital Region. The number of days when ozone limits were beyond the permissible standards through the year has also increased, found a new analysis by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). The CSE report found that the eight-hourly standard for ground-level ozone exceeded limits in at least one station in Delhi on 290 days in 2020. This is up by 30 days compared with 2019 and 26 days more than 2018. This year, the report shows that the city has already recorded 169 days of exceedance, an increase of 21 days for the same period last year. While earlier it was believed the gas was generally predominant during the summers, forming out of an interaction between gases in the presence of sunlight, the study found high ozone levels even during the monsoon and winter. “Ozone is now a round-the-year problem requiring urgent attention of clean air programmes,” said CSE executive director Anumita Roychowdhury, who led the study. “The risk from it is often not well understood, as the current regulatory practice of spatially averaging the data from all monitoring stations blunts the curve, and underestimates the magnitude of threat from the worst affected locations and also during different seasons,” she adds. Not only are some parts of the city breaching the standard daily, but several locations have now also begun showing increasingly high readings, indicating wider distribution of the risk. Last year, there were 30% more days when six or more stations exceeded the standard as compared to 2019. The study says in the first half of 2021, 108 days have been registered where six or more stations have exceeded the standard — higher than in the same period in previous years. Unlike PM2.5, PM10 or NO2, which have 24-hour standards, ozone instead has eight-hour standards and one-hour standards, owing to how dangerous the gas can be in a short span of time. The eight hour-standards of ozone are 100 micrograms per cubic metre, while the hourly standard is 180 micrograms per cubic metre. The study also found in terms of ozone hotspots, south Delhi and Lutyens’ Delhi and north Delhi recorded a high number of days where ozone was breaching the daily standards. In south Delhi, Dr K S Shooting Range (233 days), Siri Fort (150 days), Nehru Nagar (174 days), and Sri Aurobindo Marg (126 days) have more than 120 days where standards were exceeded in 2020. They made up four of the top five most polluted spots within Delhi. In central Delhi, J L N Stadium (116 days) and National Stadium (82 days) had relatively high numbers of exceedance days, while Sonia Vihar in north Delhi recorded 142 days where the standards were exceeded.

Ozone pollution no longer just a summer phenomenon, says CSE study

The primary emission sources of ozone include those from vehicles, power plants, factories, and other combustion sources. These undergo cyclic reactions in the presence of sunlight to generate ground level ozone. Ozone pollution that was previously thought to be a summer phenomenon is becoming more widespread in Delhi and NCR cities such as Ghaziabad, Gurugram, Noida, Greater Noida, Faridabad and Meerut, a study by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) said on Saturday. Ozone is a highly reactive gas and harmful for those suffering from respiratory conditions. The study assessed trends during different seasons – summer (March-June), winter (October-February) and monsoon (July-September), between 2018 and 2021 (up to July 18). The analysis is based on the real-time (15-minute averages) data sourced from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). The primary emission sources of ozone include those from vehicles, power plants, factories, and other combustion sources. These undergo cyclic reactions in the presence of sunlight to generate ground level ozone. According to the report, the trends were calculated in terms of number of days when the daily level exceeded the 8-hour standard. The national ambient air quality standard for ozone (8-hourly) is 100 µg/m3. The report said the top 10 high-ozone locations include stations from south Delhi, where stations such as Dr KS Shooting Range (233 days), Siri Fort (150 days), Nehru Nagar (174 days), and Sri Aurobindo Marg (126 days) make up four of the top five most polluted spots in Delhi. The study also points out that even during the lockdowns imposed during 2020-21, when the concentration of particulate matter in the air reduced, the ozone levels remained the same. CSE executive director Anumita Roychowdhury said so far the focus has only been on mitigating particulate matter pollution, but ozone is now a round-the-year problem Avikal Somvanshi from CSE said ozone levels have begun to rise even during winter, making the winter smog more toxic.

Pink tickets boost DTC women riders

According to the DTC bus ridership data, between March 2021 and July 27, the state transport corporation recorded 2,014,650 ticketed journeys, of which 1,543,986 were pink tickets issued to women passengers. At least 76% of over two million bus journeys clocked in the past five months in the national capital were using “pink tickets”, a Delhi government initiative which allows women to travel for free in public buses, data accessed by HT from the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) showed. According to the DTC bus ridership data, between March 2021 and July 27, the state transport corporation recorded 2,014,650 ticketed journeys, of which 1,543,986 were pink tickets issued to women passengers. Of the remaining, 446,110 were general tickets, which DTC officials said are issued to men and in rare cases to women if they voluntarily insist on paying for the bus fare. Further, 24,554 persons were ticketed through bus passes. Similar data for the cluster buses was not available at the time of filing this report. At 80%, the share of women passengers was high even in March when there was no strict lockdown as the fourth wave of the pandemic had not started in Delhi and buses were running with 100% seating capacity. In July, when the wave ebbed and the Delhi government relaxed public transport norms to allow more passengers to travel in buses or the Metro, the share of women passengers continued to be as high as 68.94%. Delhi has a total of 6,750 public transport buses of which 3,760 are operated by the DTC and 2,990 are run by private operators through the transport department under the cluster scheme. Rambha Devi, a domestic help who regularly travels from Trilokpuri to her employer’s house in Mayur Vihar Phase 3, said the free travel has helped her immensely. “I save anywhere between ₹260-400 per month on transport and it has helped me move more freely. Also, now I see more women passengers around me in these buses so they feel safer than before. I hope someday the Metro also gives us free rides. At present, it is not affordable,” said Devi, who has five children with her husband, a mason. Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director and in-charge of research and advocacy at Centre for Science and Environment, said “gender sensitive transport initiatives are important to improve equity in mobility”. “There is enough evidence today to show how lack of safe, affordable and accessible public transport systems can make women more vulnerable to crime and compromise their options of accessing jobs, education and health care. Sustaining this change with a longer term fiscal strategy is therefore important,” she said. “While the Delhi government’s move has ensured an increased ridership of women in public transport, which is also a source of empowerment for them, it also means that the majority of the bus journeys have been offered for free to the people of Delhi. If we take the sample of the data of the last five months, as an example, then 76.63% of the total journeys during this period was not paid for by the passengers,” said R S Minhas, deputy chief general manager (public relations), DTC. The decline in revenue through bus tickets, which is the primary source of income for the DTC, has burnt a hole in the transporter’s pocket. Data shared by the corporation in the Delhi Assembly on Thursday and Friday showed that DTC has been running into losses of over ₹1,000 crore annually since 2015, even as it has been unable to add even a single new bus to its existing fleet. To add to its woes, bus fares in Delhi -- starting from ₹5 and going up to ₹25 -- have not changed for more than a decade, unlike the Delhi Metro which have higher fares. According to the data, DTC suffered losses of ₹1,019.36 crore in 2014-15; ₹1,250.15 crore in 2015-16; ₹1,381.78 crore in 2016-17; ₹1,730.02 crore in 2017-18; and ₹1,664.56 crore in 2018-19. According to the interim estimates for 2019-20, the losses stood at ₹1,834.67 crore, the DTC said in its answers to questions raised by BJP MLA form Rohini Vijender Gupta in the Delhi Assembly.

India: 34% increase in lightning strikes recorded this year

July was one of the worst months for India this year as far as lightning strikes and related fatalities were concerned. Data released by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) recently showed that there was a 34 per cent rise in lightning strikes in India. On July 11 alone, at least 70 people were killed by lightning strikes in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. Though the United States too reports lightning strikes, the cumulative toll last year was less than 30. ALSO READ: >> Lightning kills 76 in India, including selfie-takers near famous fort Dr Sunil D. Pawar, a scientist at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) in Pune and an acclaimed expert on lightning strikes, told Khaleej Times that their analysis showed a 25 per cent year-on-year uptick in the natural calamity between 2019 and 2020. “Surface heating and moisture availability are the main factors for lightning generation,” he said. “In the global warming scenario, both these factors are increasing. It has been observed that most parts of India have shown an increase in lightning activity over the last 20 years,” he added. Pawar pointed out that several parts of India, including the north-east, the northwestern part of the Himalayan foothills, and the eastern coast have of late shown a sharp rise in lightning activities. He cited the trend as a global phenomenon and noted that many countries have observed an increase in lightning activity. However, improvements in lightning forecasts can help reduce damages. “Educating people about precautions they should take during lightning is essential to reduce deaths,” he said. Lightning strikes killed 1,697 people in India between April 1, 2020, and March 31, 2021, according to the second annual Lightning report brought out by ReliefWeb, the humanitarian information service provided by the United Nations’ Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). India reports the maximum number of lightning deaths in the world. Bihar accounted for the maximum number of deaths (401) due to lightning between April 1, 2020, and March 31, 2021, which was a 168 per cent rise over the previous year’s figures. Other states recording significant deaths caused by lightning included UP (238), Madhya Pradesh (228), Odisha (156), and Jharkhand (132). Several other states also witnessed huge increases in lightning strikes during the year. Punjab saw a 331 per cent rise in lightning strikes during the year. Meanwhile, Haryana (164%), Puducherry (117%), Himachal Pradesh (105%) and West Bengal (100%) were among those recording an exponential rise in lightning strikes. Though the southern state of Andhra Pradesh does not figure in this list, it reported one of the worst days in recent memory. On May 1, 2018, 14 people were killed as a spate of 41,205 bolts of lightning struck the state. In the previous month on April 24, as many as 37,000 lightning strikes were recorded in the state in the span of 13 hours. DON'T MISS: >> Video: 1 dead, 3 injured in India lightning strike Lightning has also been the single largest cause of deaths due to natural disasters in India since 2002. In January 2001, the earthquake in Bhuj, Gujarat, claimed more than 13,700 lives. However, over 40,000 lives have been lost in the country due to lightning strikes since then. India’s National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), which monitors deaths, said that since 2001, more than 42,000 people have been killed due to lightning. Most of the deaths have been reported in rural areas, with cities accounting for less than five per cent. Seventy per cent of the deaths were of victims sheltering under trees. The OCHA report said there has been “phenomenal improvement” in early warnings in India. “The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issues forecasts,” it said. “Medium range for up to five days, short range till three days, nowcast up to three hours, and Damini mobile application has a 40-minute specific window. Be that as it may, there’s still a lack of protocol and mechanism for last-mile connectivity with the public about the issuance of alerts for lightning strikes.” Lightning strikes have tremendous power, and they can decimate the person or object upon impact. According to the National Weather Service in US, a typical lightning flash is about 300 million volts and about 30,000 amps. In comparison, household current is 120 volts and 15 amps.

'Ozone becoming more widespread in Delhi-NCR across all seasons'

Delhi: Ozone, a highly reactive gas and dangerous for those suffering from respiratory conditions and asthma, is becoming more widespread in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) across all seasons, according to a new analysis by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) released on Friday. The analysis said that contrary to the notion that ozone, produced photochemically from interaction between gases in the presence of sunlight, is predominantly a summer phenomenon, the gas has emerged as an equally strong concern during winter as well. "Ozone is now a round-the-year problem requiring urgent attention of clean air programmes," said CSE executive director Anumita Roychowdhury. Also Read - CBSE: 99.96% 12th graders in Delhi govt schools pass "The risk from it is often not well understood, as the current regulatory practice of spatially averaging the data from all monitoring stations blunts the curve, and underestimates the magnitude of threat from the worst affected locations and also during different seasons. "As ozone is a highly reactive gas and even short-term exposure can aggravate respiratory conditions leading to emergency hospital admission, it requires a different approach to risk assessment and communication,' she added. Another expert said that the number of days not meeting the ozone standards is increasing even in winters. Also Read - Faster B&B registrations, GST changes passed in Assembly 'This analysis shows that the number of days not meeting the ozone standards has begun to increase even during winter months, making the winter smog more toxic,' said Avikal Somvanshi, programme manager in CSE's Urban Lab team of the Sustainable Cities programme. The assessment has traced trends during different seasons — summer (March-June), winter (October-February) and monsoon (July-September), between 2018 and July 18, 2021. It said that the eight-hourly standard for ground-level ozone exceeded at least in one station in Delhi on 290 days in 2020, which is up by 30 days compared to 2019 and 26 days more than 2018. This year has already recorded 169 days of exceedance, an increase of 21 days for the same period last year, the analysis revealed, adding that in the NCR, Gurugram saw the maximum jump in number of exceedance days between 2019 and 2020 — its tally of 201 days in 2020 was an increase by over 300 per cent from previous year. Also Read - Resolution passed seeking repeal of farm laws; AAP bashes GNCT Act changes 'Noida also registered a 54 per cent jump. Faridabad recorded no change between 2019 and 2020. Ghaziabad and Greater Noida saw a decline, with the latter showing the biggest drop of 28 per cent. Meerut does not have adequate data for 2019 to carry out comparative trend analysis, but with 109 days of exceedance in 2020, it was the least polluted major city in the NCR,' it said. The CSE said that granular real time data (15-minute averages) have been sourced from the Central Pollution Control Board's (CPCB) official online portal Central Control Room for Air Quality Management. The data has been captured from 81 official stations under the Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring System (CAAQMS) spread across Delhi-NCR (40 stations in Delhi, four each in Gurugram, Faridabad, Noida and Ghaziabad, three in Meerut, and two in Greater Noida while 20 smaller towns in NCR have one station),' it said.

Ozone levels exceeding permitted levels: study

Despite lockdown, more days witnessed higher and longer duration of ozone spells A Centre for Science and Environment study has found that ozone levels are exceeding the permitted levels even during winter in Delhi-NCR, making the smog more “toxic”. “Ozone is now a round-the-year problem requiring urgent [action] and the situation demands refinement of clean air action plan to add strategies for ozone mitigation, with stronger action on vehicles, industry and waste burning,” says CSE Executive Director Anumita Roychowdhury. Despite the pandemic and lockdowns, more days and locations witnessed higher and longer duration of ozone spells, the study said. Year-round menace Ozone, a highly reactive gas and dangerous for those suffering from respiratory conditions and asthma, is becoming more widespread in Delhi and NCR across all seasons, the CSE said. “Contrary to the notion that ozone, produced photochemically from interaction between gases in the presence of sunlight, is predominantly a summer phenomenon, the analysis finds the gas has emerged as an equally strong concern during winter as well,” it said. Occasional exceedance The study was done by analysing the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data. The CSE analysis found that the city-wide average largely remains within the standard with just occasional exceedance. But the ‘good’ category days have fallen to 115 days in 2020, which is 24 days less than in 2019. “A location-wise analysis presents a different story. It shows that exceedance of the eight-hour average standard is quite widely distributed in the city. At the moment, it is not possible to compute the peak pollution in the city as the data that is available from CPCB is capped at 200 ug/m3. This also makes daily AQI reporting ineffective,” the study said. Even smaller towns of NCR, including Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh and Bhiwani in Haryana, appeared in the top 20 list of ozone-afflicted towns and cities. South Delhi locations dominate the list with four mentions in top 10.

दिल्ली में अब पूरे साल ओजोन बन रही समस्या, क्लीन एयर पर जोर देने की जरूरत

ओजोन की समस्या अब दिल्ली-एनसीआर में सभी सीजन के दौरान देखने को मिल रही है। सेंटर फॉर साइंस एंड एनवायरनमेंट (सीएसई) की एक नई रिपोर्ट में यह दावा किया गया है। सीएसई की एग्जिक्यूजिव डायरेक्टर अनुमिता राय चौधरी ने कहा कि ओजोन अब पूरे साल की समस्या है। इसलिए क्लीन एयर प्रोग्राम में इस पर ध्यान देने की जरूरत है। उन्होंने कहा कि ओजोन एक रिएक्टिव गैस है, इसके संपर्क में कम समय रहने पर भी स्वास्थ्य संबंधी परेशानियां हो सकती हैं, जिसके लिए व्यक्ति को एडमिट तक करना पड़ सकता है। इसलिए इससे निपटने के लिए एक अलग अप्रोच की जरूरत है। ओजोन की मात्रा तय मानकों से अधिक सीएसई अर्बन लैब टीम के प्रोग्राम मैनेजर अविकल सोमवंशी ने बताया कि आकलन से पता चला है कि ऐसे दिनों की संख्या बढ़ रही है जब ओजोन की मात्रा तय मानकों से अधिक है। यह सर्दियों के दौरान भी बढ़ रही हैं, जिसकी वजह से सर्दियों का स्मॉग अधिक जहरीला बन रहा है। यह असेसमेंट गर्मियों के लिए मार्च से जून, सर्दियों के लिए अक्टूबर से फरवरी और मॉनसून के लिए जुलाई से सितंबर के बीच 2018 से 2021 के आंकड़ों पर किया गया है। साउथ और ईस्ट दिल्ली में ओजोन लेवल सबसे अधिक सीएसई के आकलन के मुताबिक ओजोन के बढ़ने की वजह हाइपर लोकल हैं। इसलिए दो पड़ोसी जगहों के बीच भी इसके स्तर में काफी अंतर देखने को मिल रहा है। मसलन 27 अप्रैल 2021 को राजधानी के कई स्टेशनों के बीच काफी अधिक वैरिएशन मिला। इस दिन यमुना के आसपास, लुटियन जोन और वेस्ट दिल्ली में ओजोन का स्तर कम था। लेकिन वहीं साउथ, सेंट्रल और नार्थ दिल्ली में इसकी मात्रा अधिक दर्ज की गई। जबकि साउथ और ईस्ट दिल्ली में यह सबसे अधिक थी। नसीआर में गुरुग्राम में सबसे अधिक बढ़ोतरी रिपोर्ट में दावा किया गया है कि 2020 में 290 दिन कम से कम एक जगह पर ओजोन का स्तर तय मानकों से अधिक मिला है। जबकि 2019 में यह 30 दिन और 2018 में 26 दिन था। 2021 में अभी तक यह संख्या 21 दिन है। जबकि एनसीआर में गुरुग्राम में सबसे अधिक बढ़ोतरी देखने को मिली है। यहां 2020 में 201 दिन ओजोन तय मानकों से अधिक रहा। यह 2019 के मुकाबले 300 प्रतिशत अधिक है। वहीं नोएडा में यह बढ़ोतरी 54 प्रतिशत रही। फरीदाबाद में कोई बदलाव नहीं हुआ जबकि गाजियाबाद और ग्रेटर नोएडा में 28 प्रतिशत की कमी दर्ज की गई। अगर छह स्टेशनों के आधार पर तुलना की जाए तो यह बढ़ोतरी 2019 की तुलना में 2020 में 30 प्रतिशत रही।

Chhattisgarh: Protests Against Sponge Iron Plant in Jashpur by Tribal Communities Continue

'We don't need iron or power; we need agriculture and forest produce-based industries. There should not be a factory that destroys agriculture and forest produce...' As India struggles to find the path back to economic growth with the COVID-19 pandemic seemingly easing out, large-scale protests have been raging in the village of Tangargaon in Kansabel tehsil, Jashpur district of Chhattisgarh, against a sponge iron plant. The plant, owned and operated by Maa Kudargarhi Energy And Ispat Private Limited, is to be set up to produce 0.462 MTPA (462000 TPA) of sponge iron, 0.52 MTPA (520000 TPA) of billets, and 70 MW of electricity. Adivasi communities in the area have been opposed to the plant, owing to the large-scale environmental damage it would do and the pollution it would cause, they said. Villagers from ten nearby panchayats have mobilised themselves against the upcoming environment clearance hearing for the project, scheduled for August 4. The residents have vowed to stop the hearing owing to the large-scale “faking of consent” that has allegedly taken place. A PIL has also been filed in the Madhya Pradesh High Court with the court issuing notice to the state government, Collector and other parties and seeking answers. The issue has triggered a larger discussion in the state about the pollution caused by sponge iron industries and their effects on the environment and tribal communities. Sponge iron is also known as Direct Reduced Iron (DRI). Direct reduction is an alternative route of iron making developed to overcome some of these difficulties of conventional blast furnaces. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) had classified sponge iron as a red category industry which denotes its high potential to pollute. The classification means the industry needs strict pollution norms and guidelines and should be monitored and inspected regularly. However, studies by the Center for Science and Environment have showed that the regulatory framework fails in such cases on most occasions. “Over 600 people have recently written to the collector again. There have been large-scale protests in the region. Past experiences of sponge iron factories have shown they led to skin allergies, enormous coal fly ash and respiratory problems. The water, forest, land and air will be polluted. The smoke, ash and other residues emitted from the factory will pollute all of it. Farming will be ruined. Public life and wildlife will be affected. The talk of employment for the local people is not true," Father Jacob Kujur told Newsclick “We don't need iron or power; we need agriculture and forest produce-based industries. There should not be a factory that destroys agriculture and forest produce. We need an industry that keeps the environment clean," he added. Villagers say the plant will adversely affect the fields and livelihoods of the Kanwar and Oraon tribes which call the region their home. In a bid to resist the plant, residents from multiple villages had staged protests this month on July 21. Jashpur district falls under the Fifth Schedule Area – the land being transferred to the industrial firm has not received the gram sabha consent yet. Activists alleged that the process of land acquisition was done secretly and that Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006 has also been violated. Alok Shukla from the organisation Chattisgarh Bachao Andolan told Newsclick that the "company claims that they have purchased 80 acres of land from an individual family in the region to set up the plant – since its private land the acquisition process has not been followed. However, keeping in view the impact of the industry and given that it comes under the most polluting category, a gram sabha consent was needed, which has not happened. The movement against the sponge iron industry in Chhattisgarh is not new. What is important to understand is that when the state of Chattisgarh was carved out, enormous protests between 2005 and 2007 against this extreme pollution rocked the state. Owing to the movement the industry was discouraged and several MOU’s were also cancelled. However, now, amid this new wave of industrialisation by the Baghel government, all previous commitments have faded as promises to re-open this dangerous and widely polluting industry are being made," he alleged. The petitions and protests have also highlighted that the area is home to an elephant corridor, medicinal plants, forest area as well as wildlife, which will be affected by the industrial activity in the region. The ground-water level of Jashpur district is also dangerously low, according to the Central Water Commission. If the plan for the plant moves on the residents feel that it will also turn into another cause for water problems for this area. Maa Kudargarhi Energy and Ispat Private Limited will use water from the Maini river and the risk of it being polluted also figures. Since 2002, India has been the largest producer of sponge iron. About 20% of the sponge iron produced worldwide is made in India. The firm and the state government states that the project will give a boost to the economy of the state by way of direct and indirect taxes, employment and infrastructure development. The company has also promised the generation of 2,000 jobs on a daily wage. However, Chhattisgarh has witnessed protests against sponge iron plants since the time the state was carved out. The manufacturing process releases extreme heat and smoke containing oxides of sulphur and carbon, unburnt carbon particles and silica. “These plants, which have come up mostly in tribal villages, don't add much to the local economy either. Despite initial assurances of job security, few local villagers have been hired. Given that most villagers lack adequate qualification, those that do get jobs are usually hired as unskilled labourers with no insurance or medical benefits. This way, factory management ensures there's less trouble from local residents, especially in case of accidents," Down to Earth had observed.