Saving people from air pollution

Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh with a population of about 20 million crammed into an area of 300 plus square kilometres, is one of the worst liveable city in the world, in terms of air pollution level. Even the day before yesterday, Dhaka ranked first, according to IQAir, an air quality monitoring organisation. Quite often the air quality level here surpasses permissible exposure limit. Dhaka's air quality usually ranges from unhealthy to very unhealthy level. This has been going on for years together without any break. No tangible initiative has been taken until now to tackle the situation.
The city air contains a wide range of very harmful substances from gaseous pollutants and particulate objects to even carcinogenic elements including arsenic, lead and cadmium. Prolonged exposure to these hazardous matters increases the risk of respiratory to cardiovascular diseases and loss or weakening of lung function. Children and elderly people are the worst victims of respiratory ailments. This is the reason why the number of people in the city suffering from asthma and such other diseases is increasing exponentially. Lead causes irreversible damages to brain and kidney. Heavy metals like arsenic and cadmium are said to be responsible for cancerous growth. Situation in other major cities of the country is neither better.
Experts have comprehensive ideas about the sources of the harmful substances that accumulate in the air and pollute it. But even a layman can have his own explanation of the cause and effect of pollution from day to day experience. Whenever ordinary person sees brick kilns in their hundreds dotting areas close to the city's periphery and outmoded motor vehicles belching out toxic fumes and suffocating poisonous gases, air pollution and its effects on human health no longer remains a rocket science to her or him. Since the sources of pollution are known, it must not be difficult to chalk out a plan and plunge into action to free the city from pollution. However, for mysterious reasons, the authorities have failed to shut down the pollutant-emitting brick kilns and withdraw the unfit buses and trucks from the city streets. Dust and dirt floating in the air are also major polluters. The city administration has success stories neither in removing dust from the streets nor keeping it down by regularly spraying water. City dwellers have no escape from breathing in poison every moment.
The authorities concerned are duty-bound to keep the city free from pollution but fail to accomplish the tasks assigned to them. They need to be prodded into action. It is quite obvious that whenever the administration refrains from doing what it is supposed to do, the apex court has to pass orders on the same as was the case regarding relocation of chemical warehouses from the old part of the city and shifting of tannery factories from the Hazaribagh area. Naturally, the issue of freeing the city from pollution cannot be an exception. According to a report carried in this paper, the High Court has voiced its serious concern over Dhaka's air quality and asked the government to take effective steps within seven days towards preventing air pollution in the capital. It also asked the government to comply with a nine-point directive issued five years ago to prevent air pollution here and submit a compliance report before this court by January 26. It is hoped that the HC order will make the authorities concerned prompt enough to take effective measures for phasing out pollution from the city and sparing its dwellers from inhaling poison.

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