Vijay Garg
Disposal of stubble is a serious problem. Claims are made every year to tackle pollution caused by stubble burning, but the irony is that till date a permanent solution to this problem has not been found. Claims may be made in this regard, but in reality this problem is becoming more acute every year. The sad thing is that governments become aware of this only when due to the huge increase in air pollution due to this problem, it becomes difficult for people to breathe. If seen, every year due to burning of stubbleNational Capital Region Delhi, western part of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab remain in the grip of severe air pollution from October to December. These months come as a problem for the people here, because all the efforts, campaigns and all the steps taken by the governments of these states to stop it prove to be futile. As a result, the severity of air pollution is increasing day by day and governments appear helpless in front of it. All this happens when there is a ban on stubble burning.The is. The Supreme Court has also expressed serious concern about what kind of management it is that stubble is being burnt despite the ban. This also proves that they are adept at preventing pollution. Breathing poisonous air: Due to increasing air pollution in the capital, people here are forced to breathe poisonous air. Due to this, a large number of people in Delhi are suffering from asthma. As a result, increasing air pollution becomes fatal for people already suffering from asthma. Increase in asthma patients in such circumstancesIt is a dangerous sign. Anyway, due to changes in weather, pollution is increasing. So far, a nine-fold increase in incidents of stubble burning has been recorded in Punjab. It is believed that this time after harvesting of paddy in Punjab, 200 lakh tonnes of stubble will be left, whereas the state aims to manage only about 20 lakh tonnes of stubble. Obviously, the remaining stubble will be burnt due to lack of management. Although the Punjab government has given approval to set up 58 compressed left gas plants for stubble disposal, but it does not have land to store the stubble.It is not. Environmental cleanliness: It is the responsibility of all of us to keep the environment clean. Ensuring a clean environment is the joint responsibility of the Centre, State, society and people. Everyone should do this honestly. But in this we have failed. There is a need to make a coordinated action plan to control air pollution not only at that time, especially during winter when the sky is covered with smog and toxic gases, but for the entire year. The situation of air pollution in the entire country can be easily estimated.Is. Last year, a petition was filed in the Delhi High Court in which it was said that the level of air pollution in the National Capital Region increases every year due to burning of stubble by farmers in neighboring states. This should be controlled and emphasis should be laid on making compost from stubble. Doing this will have double benefits. Making compost will curb the increasing pollution and on the other hand, farmers will be able to get better and chemical-free yields by using this compost. Role of other factors in air pollutionIt plays an important role, but the dust on the roads and the garbage and biomass spread there also have an important contribution in it. This creates a cocktail of poison in the environment. The most lethal inorganic aerosols in the environment are created by the combination of sulfuric acid and nitrogen oxides emitted from power plants, industries, traffic, and ammonia produced by agricultural activities. This cocktail is the cause of approximately 23 percent air pollution. If we take stock of the air pollution in Delhi, we find that 20 percent of the smog is emitted by vehicles in Delhi.Of these, 60 percent comes from vehicles outside Delhi and around 20 percent comes from burning biomass. In many recent research studies conducted in this context, an attempt has been made to show that the problem of air pollution is no less than the threat of a war, hence the claim of development can be effective only in the situation when the problem of air pollution is not less than the threat of war. Let us try to find a solution keeping in mind the current circumstances of our country.
(The author is Retired Principal).