Lead pollution high in Bengal, says Jairam

The Times of India , Friday, July 04, 2014
Correspondent : TNN
KOLKATA: Bengal has more than 27 highly polluted areas, including one in the heart of the city. An area in Picnic Garden, where used batteries are dumped, has been listed among the worst-affected places of the world in terms of lead pollution. Former Union environment minister Jairam Ramesh said this on Thursday at a seminar on pollution.

Elaborating on the impact of lead pollution, Richard Fuller, engineer-turned-green activist and founder of Blacksmith Institute in USA, pointed out that lead, chromium, mercury and pesticides, apart from hazardous dumpsites, are a threat in India and across the world.

"You have it right in your backyard. Lead pollution is high at the site at Picnic Garden. An estimated 30,000 people are affected by this, which is serious," he said.

Blacksmith Institute has taken the initiative to form the Global Alliance on Health and Pollution (GAHP) that has been joined by several countries. India is still not a part of the alliance. But GAHP works in India, helping to identify polluted sites, training government workers and running pilot projects.

"Urban air pollution could be a bigger threat than malaria or diarrhoea in a country like India. Globally, it kills one in every seven persons. We need cost-effective methods to deal with the problem. And it has to be taken up city by city," said Fuller.

"Even the water bodies of Bengal are stink holes. They are neither cleaned nor maintained. And the Ganga is a giant sewer. Most of our rivers are polluted," said Ramesh. He called for an integration of environment and growth.

 
SOURCE : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/Lead-pollution-high-in-Bengal-says-Jairam/articleshow/37732922.cms
 


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