Pollution  deaths
Sir,
This has reference to the news item,”India leads the world in pollution’ (DE, Oct 21, 2017).It is shocking to read that India has the dubious distinction of leading the world in the number of pollution related deaths, with 25 lakh people facing premature deaths in 2015, according to a study by a reputed medical journal.Out of 90 lakh pollution related deaths in 2015 across the world, 25 lakh people died prematurely in our country and 18 lakhs in China due to diseases linked to air, water and other forms of pollution.It is strange that diseases caused by pollution were responsible for 16% of all deaths worldwide and three times more deaths than from AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria combined and 15 times more than from all wars and other forms of violence.The fact that 92 percent of pollution related deaths happened in low income and middle income countries and such diseases are most prevalent among minorities and the marginalised, presents a depressing picture.It is unfortunate that most of the victims of pollution related deaths are the marginalised who contribute little to the increasing levels of pollution.The Government ought to take report seriouly, constitiute a committee of experts to study the authenticity of the the report and submit a new report within a time frame.The suggestions of the committee ought to be implemented in letter and spirit.At the same time,anti pollution laws must be made more stringent and implemented strictly to check air, water, noise and other types of pollution and thus, make the life on earth healthier and better.The developed countries which are major contributors to burgeoning levels of pollution also ought to come forward to check environmental pollution.
Awareness camps need to be organised to enlighten the people about the hazards of environmental pollution and motivate them to check it.
Yours etc…
Ashok Sharma
Jammu

Follow our WhatsApp channel