MAN MADE POLLUTION

MAN MADE POLLUTION

12-SEP-ENG 20

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

ARA---------------------------It is an insult to nature to shrug off the disasters that are destroying civilization by calling them natural. The reality is that these disasters are man-made and the greed-based development model lays its foundation in advance. As a nation, we have neither been able to prevent disasters nor manage them. Disasters are also deeply related to pollution. The way development projects are creating serious health crises, it has created a crisis for the entire human race. According to a report of the World Health Organization, every year more than 70 lakh deaths occur worldwide due to pollution. It claims that air pollution is the biggest health affecting factor and a new research also shows that every year 81000 people are falling prey to lung cancer in India and this situation becomes more frightening while according to the report of the Health Effects Institute, 21 lakh people died in India due to air pollution in 2021. According to another study, about 1.5 million deaths in India in 2019 were related to PM2.5 air pollution. Air pollution is also a major problem globally, with about 8.1 million deaths due to air pollution in 2021, with India and China being the worst affected countries. These toxins dissolved in the air are man-made and not natural. Another thing worth noting is that air pollution and other types of pollution harm the poor more than the rich. Workers working in hazardous industries are infected with serious respiratory diseases. K. Sujatha Rao, former Union Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, says that of course, air is distributed equally to everyone – rich and poor, young and old – we all breathe the same air. But its impact falls disproportionately on poor people. People who work in the construction industry, people who work in polluting factories, people who work in unhealthy environments – these are the people whose health is affected far more by poor air quality. They can also be nutritionally and immunologically weak. Death is one aspect, but long-term morbidity also affects their earnings, because not only do they lose productivity in terms of work, but they also spend money on healthcare, unless they go to government hospitals. So, these are the kinds of social and economic impacts of air pollution. It is quite devastating.

Not only air pollution but drinking contaminated water has also led to a large number of deaths in India. Various studies show that water pollution in India leads to a large number of waterborne diseases like cholera, typhoid, hepatitis and acute diarrhoea, causing many deaths. Industrial waste, untreated sewage and agricultural chemicals contaminate water, leading to long-term diseases ranging from digestive problems to liver and kidney damage. Every year millions of Indians are affected by waterborne diseases, which lead to 15 million child deaths due to diarrhoea and more than 10,000 deaths due to various diseases.

Noise pollution also has serious adverse effects on human health and these facts also point towards a dire situation. Studies show that continuous exposure to noise pollution of more than 55 dB increases the risk of high blood pressure, hearing problems, chronic stress, sleep disorders and cardiovascular diseases. In fact, traffic noise on roads with heavy vehicular traffic increases the risk of heart attack by 8% due to oxidative stress and cortisol secretion, which increases blood pressure. Similarly, lack of restful sleep due to exposure to environmental noise of more than 40 dB at night affects sleep quality and is associated with the development of diabetes, obesity and depression. In fact, continuous urban noise increases the risk of anxiety disorders by 25%.

Now the question arises that when pollution is such a terrible man-made tragedy which is pushing this earth as well as human civilization towards destruction, then why are people and governments indifferent towards it? In reality all the global programs to save the environment are just a sham and they lack political and personal will power. People should wake up now when even the youth and children are getting trapped in the trap of untimely death. We should give up the pleasure based lifestyle and destructive poisonous food, we should return to nature. Governments are so indifferent even in making environmental policies that they don't care about people's lives. Pollution is not a vote based issue, that's why even political parties do not show any interest in it. The need is to awaken the consciousness of the people towards the environment and save them from this disaster.