'1,000 Shades Of Grey': A Tale Of 'Capital' Pollution

Like Diwali, air pollution has also become a part of north India's ritual, one that no one looks forward to but is a byproduct of everything that is wrong with urban India - mis-governance, political apathy, lack of concern for the environment, poor implementation of green laws, improper planning etc. Policymakers were well aware of the impending crisis of air pollution, but little or nothing was done to prevent it. Small yet meaningful measures such as vacuuming of roads, sprinkling of water was not done. The situation worsened further by smoke rising from crop burning in neighbouring states such as Punjab and Haryana, and cracker bursting during the festival of Diwali. Now, most of northern India sits with a cloud of deadly smog hovering over it, the air quality index hit 'severe' for several cities in the region. Experts on the show, Chandra Bhushan from Centre for Science and Environment and Dr. Guleria, a renowned Pulmonologist claimed that this air pollution could lead to thousands of deaths as the air puts at risk children as well as adults. If this is not a wake up call then what is?