Coping up with pollution ideas by NDTV

While, I agree that the coys are making huge profits by selling air purifiers and may even be influencing govt to promote their cause, I COMPLETELY DISAGREE that they are paying farmers to burn their crops. Paying farmers has an inherent risk of somebody opening his mouth or even recording the conversation and leaking it. Coys are not fools to take such a risk.

Farmers burn their leftover of crop has reasons: -

Earlier most farmers had cattle and the crop used to be harvested by hand leaving only the root. The root used to rot with water and get dissolved in the soil thereby providing fertility to soil. The hay cut was used for the cattle food and used to sell very costly giving farmer additional income. Unfortunately, these days nobody has cattle and the hay value has become zero. Also the labour is very costly which the poor farmer cannot afford specially with reduced landholdings. As a result, harvesting with automated machines/thrashers is convenient and economical but leaves huge part of the plant with the roots. Additionally even the rains have reduced terribly and with no water this leftover doesn't rot with the soil. The farmer has no other way but to burn it otherwise he will not get his next crop and will not be able to look after his family needs. We all know how many farmers commit suicides. The govt has to come to rescue of these farmers and help them rather than only imposing its will on them without even giving alternatives. The farmer earns by investing all his capital and bearing huge expenditures on seed, manure, fertilizers, water, labour etc and after six months get same benefits that the middlemen earn in few days from the same grain. And the risk for the farmer in the form of untimely rain or lack of it, untimely hailstorm is also huge for the farmer.

Furthermore, the burning of crop adds to Delhi pollution but the main problem with Delhi pollution is Delhi traffic. Otherwise, how can the pollution be limited to Delhi and not Haryana, Punjab where this burning of crop takes place? The moment one leaves Delhi in any direction, there is a sudden drop in pollution. Why? And if it is so then how can we keep enjoying the comforts of individual vehicles, instead of using public transportation and expect the poor farmers to let go his source of income for us to live in pollution free environment? Its time we start being responsible for our own actions and start pooling our transports. Also the govt must get its act together to improve the public transportation in the city. The govt must also make it mandatory for the coys including govt departments, to ply buses for its employees and limit the use of cars. In Govt, high ranking officers are given 2 to 3 cars on govt expense which are used for all personal uses of the family. How can an officer use more than one car for his official functioning? And the effect of providing these additional cars at govt expense is over-running since the family isnt paying for the fuel/maintenance. Why should the family be provided car at govt expense, however high the official maybe?

Sad that all roads lead to corruption. Started from pollution and finished with corruption. more