Those living and working in our big cities are all too familiar with the high levels of air pollution and the hazards it poses to public health. And, of course, it is also obvious that those who suffer most on account of this menace are the weak and vulnerable, especially children.
A recent study report, prepared by a Karachi NGO on the basis of chest x-ray examinations of some 25,071 people, including 7,856 school children studying in 22 different schools in Karachi, reveals a disturbing result: 11.5 percent of the children, the study report says, were found to be suffering from various chest diseases such as emphysema, chronic bronchitis, and cardiomegaly.
The biggest single source of air pollution is smoke and fumes emitted vehicles, especially rickshaws.
The situation is so bad in some other cities, such as Lahore, that unless one is travelling in an air-conditioned vehicle, it is hard to breathe on some of the busier roads.
The problem is too pervasive to escape notice. Sceptics though may want to assert that since it does not affect the affluent people who travel, to and from work and schools, by air-conditioned cars in the less congested parts of the cities. They do not have to worry about the problem as much as the ordinary folk do. Nonetheless, from time to time, the provincial governments have expressed a resolve to address it, but only to let it dissolve in the face of opposition from the owners of buses and rickshaws.
These private transporters are going to resist anti-pollution regulation, and they happen to have a big capability, through their well-organised trade unions, to give the government a hard time if it imposes unilateral restrictions on smoke emitting vehicles. But at the same time, the harm they pose to public health is too great to be neglected by the provincial governments.
It must undertake necessary remedies without fear of earning the displeasure of transporters. Concerned sections of civil society too have a role to play in addressing the problem.
It may be recalled that some years ago, Indian capital, New Delhi, was faced with a similar situation. But then the judiciary stepped in to act on behalf of the public interest, ordering all buses plying on the metropolis' roads to a halt, until they were fitted with CNG - a cleaner fuel - and ready to go back into service without harmful emissions.
Denizens of Delhi are now rightfully proud of having a much cleaner environment as compared to those of our cities. There is no reason why the same cannot be done here.
So far as provincial governments are concerned, they can deal with the issue of private transporter protests by giving them an incentive to adopt cleaner options. That can easily prove to be more effective than the verbal exhortations that the federal government had been making, not long ago, for the transporters to go for the cheaper and cleaner CNG fuel.
What these governments need to do is to offer one-time financial help to all public transporters, at least the owners of rickshaws, to install the necessary CNG kits in their vehicles.
This of course will entail a huge amount of money. The provincial governments say such money should come from the Centre, which, they tend to think, is not going to be forthcoming, all the more so now with the SBP warning of impending economic difficulties.
Still, the problem can be overcome by involving the public sector financial institutions. The provincial governments need to ask them to advance loans for the purpose on easy terms. It would also be worthwhile for them to even consider chipping in some money of their own to mitigate the interest factor.
Instead of waiting for some miraculous rescue to happen on its own, they must play proactive role in addressing the causes of air pollution that is playing havoc with public health.
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