Poorva Chavan
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Written By: Poorva Chavan | Published : June 2, 2015 11:39 AM IST
One voice is heard, covered and all over the Internet, why, just because he is a foreigner? What about the countless people complaining about the city they live in? They remain unheard.
New York Times reporter Gardiner Harris recently narrated his turmoil over raising his children in New Delhi. He wrote in the New York Times how his child's breathing capacity decreased within the first nine months after they moved to New Delhi. (Read: US embassy claims Delhi has very unhealthy and polluted air)
He wrote,'When I became a South Asia correspondent for The New York Times three years ago, my wife and I were both excited and prepared for difficulties insistent beggars, endemic dengue and summertime temperatures that reach 120 degrees Fahrenheit. But we had little inkling just how dangerous this city would be for our boys.'
'We gradually learned that Delhi's true menace came from its air, water, food and flies. These perils sicken, disable and kill millions in India annually, making for one of the worst public health disasters in the world. Delhi, we discovered, is quietly suffering from a dire paediatric respiratory crisis, with a recent study showing that nearly half of the city's 4.4 million schoolchildren have irreversible lung damage from the poisonous air.' In his article he also wrote, that there are many ex-pats who live in New Delhi and feel that they are jeopardising the lives of their children at the expense of their careers. (Read: Children exposed to air pollution at high risk of autism)
However, there are millions of Indians who live there and face these problems every day. Pollution in Delhi has always been in the news and is of rising concern. A recent WHO report says that particulate matter in Delhi is ten times more than the permissible limit and children are most affected. Lack of potable water and sanitary facilities to accommodate a million people is another problem faced by Delhites and also other major cities in India.
These problems have been persistent and lack of strict governance and effective policies are blamed for its prevalence.
While many believe that Harris's account of the air pollution in the capital city might hamper the image that India is trying to build and may interfere with the economic progress of the country, it is more important for India to worry about the lives of a million people that are jeopardized because of the increasing pollution.
Image source: Getty Images
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