A survey conducted on children heading to school in vehicles found that 40% of them in Delhi and 36% in Bengaluru suffer from poor lung capacity due to the polluted air.

R Ganeshan, scientist, Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and Environment (ATREE), said frequent servicing of vehicles is one possible solution to reduce pollution. "Emission from old vehicles adds to the pollution and there should be a ban on such vehicles. In Bengaluru, there is also the trend of burning waste and this also leads to pollution," he explained.

Speaking to TOI, Dr H Paramesh, medical director, Lakeside Hospital, said children in Bengaluru are affected by both indoor as well as outdoor pollution. He said masks do not help much in preventing pollution, as they fail to prevent small pollutants from entering the nostrils.

It's the partial, incomplete combustion that adds to the breathing difficulty among children, says environmentalist AN Yellappa Reddy. "Four-wheelers that emit more lead and carbon monoxide cause partial combustion. The need of the hour is to form separate car lanes so that the traffic congestion on streets is avoided and pollution also reduces," he said.

Madhuri Subba Rao, environmentalist, said the action against air pollution has to begin with politicians and bureaucrats. "If they take up initiatives to keep the environment clean, then the citizens will emulate too," she said.

HOW TO PLUG POLLUTION

Burning of waste rampant in B'luru, ban it

Four-wheelers spew more fumes, form separate car lanes

Frequently service vehicles

Reduce dependency on fuel-operated vehicles

Switch off engine at traffic signals

QUOTE

Use battery-operated vehicles

Four-wheeler engines that are not switched off at traffic signals increase the pollution by five and a half times. If the vehicles are old cars, pollution is even more. The fuel used by cars adds to the pollution. It's time to opt for alternative measures like using battery-operated electrical vehicles