There was a time when Jammu was considered a city with fresh air and clean environments where people loved to go for a morning walk up the surrounding hills or along the Palace road. Old and retired people from civil and military service had their rendezvous to meet and go on group morning walks. Fresh and sweet water was supplied to the citizens of the old part of the city. Motor cars were a rarity and a handful of trucks and buses coming in and out of the city had their appointed routes and timing, which was never violated. It is very difficult to reconstruct the picture of old Jammu as it appears only incredible and youngsters would never believe.
Times have changed and life has changed. Old Jammu exists only in memory and not in reality. Leaving everything aside — the unplanned expansion of the city beyond the Tawi and on all four sides, the congestion and crowds and the humdrum of modern life, where speed and suspense have become the order of the day. Jammu is engulfed in a serious situation that portends disaster if remedial measures are not taken immediately. We mean the air and water pollution of massive scale that threatens life of humans, animals and birds in this city. Narrow streets of Jammu are jam-packed with vehicles of all sorts, scooters, bikes, three-wheelers, cars, mini buses, large buses, trucks, road rollers and what not. Each day the number of vehicles is increasing and each day emission of dangerous smoke fills the air. Residents of Jammu do not know what they are inhaling and what will be the end result of inhaling polluted air or drinking contaminated water. State Pollution Control Board has established three monitoring centers of air pollution. Reports emanating from these centers for the year, 2014-15, are horrible. According to the annual average data of State Pollution Control Board, during 2013-14 year, the RSPM was recorded at 113 mg, SPM 210 mg, SO2 3.2 and NO2 13.3 mg at the centre established at Regional Office of the Board at Narwal. However, during the 2014-15, this centre recorded RSPM at 132 mg and SPM 238 mg, which clearly establishes sharp increase in levels of RSPM and SPM in the air. This pollution is caused by emission of smoke and gases from the vehicle and factories. Pollution at this level causes various respiratory diseases and we have seen that chest diseases, breathing problems, cough, bronchitis and fever are mostly happening because of polluted air.
The worst is that Government agencies are not demonstrating any serious concerns about the danger which pollution of this level is causing to the human and animal life. The Transport Department does not come out with any corrective measures to control adding of hundreds of vehicles every week to the large number of vehicles that already ply on Jammu streets and is the cause of pollution, congestion, crowding and hindrance to pedestrians. The Forest Department is silently watching the destruction of forest cover to the city knowing and usually telling in loud words that forests are the lungs of a city. The flora and fauna is adversely affected by the polluted air. The Forest Department does not even protest; leave aside proposing constructive measures to overcome the effects of air pollution on plant life. It feels it has no responsibility of planting trees and providing greenery along the main streets as is the case with capital cities everywhere. The State Pollution Control Board stops its activity with submitting the annual or interval report on pollution and that is all. This is not the way that we shall be able to tackle the problem.
The Government must first of all become fully conscious of the threat posed to public health. Thereafter, it has to rope in all concerned to sit together and discuss a solution to pollution problem. This is a matter in which civil society, too, has to play a part, at least in bringing pressure on the Government to address this serious challenge. It can be overcome but with planning and the Government has to plan and execute the plan if Jammu is to be saved from pollution disaster.
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