Air Pollution has been haunting India for a pretty long time now. The World Health Organisation states that 13 out of the 20 most polluted cities are in India. The Lancet Commission studied air pollution, linked to 6.5 million deaths in 2015, and reckoned that air pollution leads to approximately 6,70,000 deaths annually. With rapid urbanisation, Bengaluru has come a long way from being a garden city with enchanting scenery to a concrete jungle in which the information technology sector is elementary. The Silicon Valley of India is infected by air pollution due to unrestrained industrial growth, rapid urbanisation, and increasing vehicles.
The report of Urban Emissions lists the elementary reasons for this condition, such as open garbage burning and transportation. Bangalore’s air is filled with particulate matter and polluting gases, which force citizens to dwindle due to respiratory and communicable diseases. This opinion piece delves into the air quality crisis of Bangalore by depicting the severity of the problem using data from official sources and reflecting on the factors contributing to the problem.
There are many contributors to the cause, compelling authorities to wake up. Firstly, the density of Bengaluru urban district is 4,378 people per square kilometre, making it the most densely populated district in the country, with increasing vehicles, tallying 55.2 lakhs in 2012-13 to 1.1 crore in September 2023. Constant honking, lack of infrastructure like flyovers, lack of traffic management by the police due to the increased number of private vehicles, less public transport system, and the ongoing metro project have made life near to hell, especially in the heart of the city. No wonder the city dropped to 6th place in 2023 than 2022 in the Traffic Index ranking, by
Tom Tom, a Dutch Technology Reporting firm reporting the time as 28 minutes 10 seconds to cover an average of 10 km 8 pm designated as working hours.
The study submitted to the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited by the KSPCB marks the alarming rates of pollution due to unregulated construction on Mysuru road, which has contributed to adding PM (Particulate matter)2.5 and PM 10 to an exacerbated rate while the latter touching a maximum of 337/m3 and the former of maximum 113 m3 both violating the standards specified by the Environment Protection Act, 1986. Furthermore, the third contributing factor is garbage dumping and burning in open spaces. Before Bangalore became an agglomeration economy, waste was dumped on the city's outskirts. Still, it is openly dumped, especially in areas like the KR market, on the footpaths of Lavelle Road, and, in a nutshell, the interiors. To solve this, the state pollution control board issued a notification issuing the guidelines for disposing of solid waste as instructed in section 19(5) of the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act 1981, but no serious actions were taken by the municipal corporation resulting in heaps of garbage in the hotspot areas giving rise to mosquitoes and rodents spreading infectious and deadly disease, recent, being the spike in dengue cases throughout the city.
According to the Indian Meteorological Department, post-pandemic changes, including extended dry spells and temperature inversions, worsened pollution by trapping pollutants near the ground. In 2021, the forest cover of Bangalore shrank to 89 sq km from 94 sq km in 2011, a shift from 7.2% to 6.8%. Monsoons this year were affected by these changes, resulting in extended dry spells, continuous rains for several days, inversion of temperature, etc., showing the need for immediate response from the state agencies and civil society.
Air pollution has pushed young and old alike into vulnerability to neurological disorders obstructing their development in a crucial stage of development, reflected in many studies conducted by organisations like the United Nations Environment Programme, Indian Institute of Science, United Nations Children’s Fund, and the International Health Regulation Emergency Committee etc. The World Bank also generates reports on the economic impact of air pollution and observed in 2023 that air pollution costs the city approximately $2 billion annually in healthcare expenses, lost productivity and premature deaths, and impacts the labour market.
Adding to the list, deteriorating air quality affects the city’s appeal as an investment destination. The National Ambient Air Quality Programme initiated by the Central Pollution Control Board is dedicated to assessing the levels of air quality for protecting vegetation, health, and property along with establishing effective mechanisms to combat pollution; in this spirit, the KSPCB is monitoring the ambient air quality manually, for keeping track of Ammonia and Lead. Aligning with section 19(5) of the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, a proposal concerning the issue of a notification which banned solid waste combustion in the open was
issued by the Central Pollution Control Board observing the alarming rates of Particulate matter affecting public health. As of today, the city lacks an implementable action plan to curb the rising air pollution levels to escape the worst. The civil society of Bangalore, showing their volunteers and political consciousness, has successfully developed plans at the grassroots levels to address the issue, compelling the government to include its provisions in its policies focused on air quality. The National Green Tribunal has barred the nation from flickering waste in the open. In Bengaluru, efficient waste management procedures can reduce open waste burning since
only 30% of urban waste is in landfills. The State Action Plan has to provide guidance and mandatory activities to be implemented by different stakeholder departments, civil society, and others concerned with reducing emissions and improving ambient air quality. Growing evidence on the health impacts of this evil from studies should call for the public and stakeholder’s consciousness to pass a healthy environment to future generations.
Dr. Anitha & Dev Chandekar & Shristy Bhattacharjee- St. Joseph’s University-Bengaluru.
