CHANDIGARH: Punjab government has promised is make Ghaggar river pollution-free by year-end with operationalization of 25 sewerage treatment plants (STPs) located in 21 towns in the vicinity of the river.
Punjab chief secretary Sarvesh Kaushal on Wednesday reviewed the progress of this project, with focus on STPs located near Ghaggar, though video-conferencing with all deputy commissioners and meeting with concerned departments.
The issue was discussed by chief ministers of Punjab and Haryana Parkash Singh Badal and Manohar Lal Khattar in the first inter-state meeting at Punjab Bhawan held recently. Kaushal said construction of STPs would be done within one year and the Prime Minister had also declared it as most preferred project under Swachh Bharat Mission.
NEW DELHI: The European Union has directed its diplomats in Delhi to install air purifiers at home and office to reduce exposure to high air pollution levels.
Ambassador and Head of Delegation of the European Union to India Joao Cravinho said EU would not monitor air pollution levels in Delhi as the US embassy in Chanakyapuri is already doing so but hoped India would implement tougher policies to fight pollution.
"We don't need to monitor the pollution level; the US is doing that ... But we need to respond for the safety of our staff...living in the city," Cravinho told a news agency on Wednesday.
Just before President Obama arrived in Delhi last month, the US embassy reportedly "purchased over 1,800 high-performance portable indoor air purifiers to protect employees", according to a Chicago-based air purifier company.
The European Union has very strict laws and policies on air pollution and other environmental issues.
UK, for instance, is facing a fine of £300 million a year for repeatedly violating the European Union's directive on air quality and not meeting the standard for oxides of nitrogen, which are major contributors to air pollution. Besides, there is legal pressure from the European Court of Justice on Britain's polluting cities.
France, a member of EU, announced recently that it would ban diesel cars in Paris to cut down on air pollution.
Centre of Science and Environment's members check air pollution level through Dust-Trak pollution checking device near AIIMS in Delhi. (TOI file photo)
"Air filters are a temporary fix that people who can afford them can avail. They're costly and require maintenance. It's true that air filters can bring down particulate pollution almost immediately. But there are many other pollutants such as oxides of nitrogen, benzene and ozone. The poor are worst affected," said T K Joshi, director of Centre for Occupational and Environmental Health.
Experts also said the filters inside an air purifier cannot trap all the allergens that can cause asthma. The use of the ionization filtration technique in certain air purifier brands emits ozone which, in fact, harms the lungs in the long run and completely defeats the purpose of using a purifier. Asthma patients, however, can use air purifiers for an emergency, Joshi said.
