SDC Foundation released a report on air pollution on the eve of Diwali 2019, based on a three-day campaign conducted on air pollution in Dehradun. The campaign was based on 2019’s theme of World Environment Day – Beat Air Pollution. It aimed to understand and document the lives of those people who are spending most of their life hours on the street, exposed to polluted levels of air in the city. This is the reason why auto drivers, street vendors, traffic police officials, cab drivers, street sweepers, students, etc. were selected to be the primary participants for the campaign.
During the campaign, citizens, government officials and experts were interviewed on the issues of air pollution. Unprecedented growth in vehicles accompanied by a poor public transport system and appalling waste management practices emerged as top reasons for rising air pollution in the city, as per the report. Rampant waste burning has been realized as another major issue responsible for causing air pollution. The report suggested that a digital board displaying the real-time air quality status must be installed in major public spots.
It also provided other practical recommendations to improve deteriorating air pollution, by promoting composting, implementing the ban on open waste burning, CNG based public transportation and installing real-time air quality monitoring display boards. The campaign was done under the supervision of Rishabh Shrivastava with support from Anushka Martolia, Hem Sahu, Ashutosh and Devika from SDC Foundation
