LUDHIANA: Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on Wednesday organised a conference on 'Sustainable Development Challenges in India' at New Delhi in which member of parliament and senior BJP leader MeenakshiLekhi, was the chief guest. During the conference CII also released theme papers according to which India has 10 cities in Top 20 most pollutedcities in the world including Ludhiana and Khanna.
The CII theme papers also stated, "air quality in North Indian cities is 2-3 times worse than cities in South India. The worsening air pollution has led to a sharp rise in cases of chest and throat disease in India. India's worsening air pollution caused some 1.1 million premature deaths in 2015 and the country now rivals China for among the highest air pollution health burdens in the world. India has 10 cities in Top 20 most polluted cities in the world including Ludhiana and Khanna . The high speed of urbanisation is one of the key drivers of air pollution."
The papers captured the impact on health because of climate change and air pollution as well as the health problems arising out of water and sanitation challenges. The papers also revealed that unplanned urbanization and the resulting deterioration in basic services appears to contribute to the spread of diseases. WHO reports says that nearly one quarter of all deaths worldwide result from preventable environmental causes relating to water, sanitation and hygiene, indoor and outdoor pollution, harmful use of chemicals such as pesticides and climate change.
