The Jammu and Kashmir valley once ranked among top states across India in air quality index due to its clean, fresh and rejuvenating air that not only refreshed the residents’ hearts and minds but also tourists across the world as well. The fresh and clean quality air in the mesmerising Kashmir valley was attracting a large number of tourists across the world for inhaling fresh air breaths on the paradise motherland. However, due to industrialization, urbanization, population pressure and other anthropogenic processes, the rejuvenating fresh and quality air of the valley has been deteriorated and loaded with harmful and poisonous pollutants that have deleterious impacts on all the flora and fauna of the state. As per the recent shocking report released by the Director SKIMS Mr. Parvaiz Koul, The Srinagar city has the highest incidence of lung cancer in the country and ten thousand people die every year in the Jammu and Kashmir due to chronic lung diseases caused by only air pollution. The said report sent a shocking wave among residents of the state. Why air pollution has soared and the air quality index deteriorated very much in the state of Jammu and Kashmir particularly in the Kashmir valley. There are a multitude of reasons. Unregulated growth of brick kilns in the Kashmir valley particularly in district Budgam is the major source of air pollution in the valley. The brick kilns continue to be coming in district Budgam on fertile agricultural, horticultural and karewa lands. Varied fruit trees, vegetables and paddy fields are immensely deteriorated due to smoke, black soot and gaseous pollutants coming from traditional and poisonous brick kilns. The air pollution caused by brick kilns has reduced the visibility in fields and villages very much. There are hundreds of brick kilns in the district Budgam and there is hardly any brick kiln owner who has adopted eco-friendly new technology for the welfare of people and the environment. The conscious people and civilized citizens having environmental ethics are of the view that some brick kilns are coming up either without environmental clearance from the EIA Authority or the pollution control Board .They suggest the government that there should be one mandatory clearance from the civil society and green citizens as well before setting up any brick kiln in any part of the state. Setting up of unregulated brick kilns without fulfilling all environmental conditions by brick kiln owners and issuing unnecessarily environmental clearances and licenses to brick kiln owners without visiting the sites by the concerned are main reasons responsible for air pollution and air quality deterioration in the valley. Rising graph of cement factories in the Khrew area of Pampore is also contributing significantly to the air pollution of the valley. The people of the area are very fed up and they want to migrate to some other safer places due to intense air pollution that has been affecting their saffron production and damaging flora and fauna. Harmful emissions from the cement factories are not only deteriorating air quality but also degrading human health. The people of the area, particularly children and the elderly, fell victim to lung diseases and many died due to their low immunity. For the past two decades, the green gold of the valley that acted as lungs on the mother earth by absorbing harmful and poisonous pollutants’ and gases faced the massive axe by the hands of forest smugglers. Unbridled forest smugglers and looters have cut the priceless green gold that contributed significantly to the air pollution of the valley and global warming. Devastation and large scale deforestation of innumerable tall majestic pine and deodar trees in the name of development and tourism and no afforestation and reforestation programmes at village level have affected the forest cover of the state severely that further increased the gravity of air pollution of the valley. Deforestation due to industrialization, urbanization, encroachments of forestlands, and forest fires also added and contributed to air pollution.
The unnecessary burning of biodegradable waste like leaves, grasses, twigs, woods, papers etc. all across the valley in household premises, kitchen gardens, agricultural fields and on roads releases large amounts of harmful pollutants like carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide etc. adding to the air pollution. Excessive and continuous burning of biodegradable waste leads to the formation of smog that affects the visibility during the winter and causes loss of innocent lives due to road accidents in the valley. Burning of non-biodegradable wastes although low in the valley due to dumping of same solid wastes in water bodies, rivers, lakes, lanes, wetlands, forestlands etc. are also contributing to the air pollution. For the past many years, unregulated setting up more industries and increasing vehicular movements with no pollution depressant devices have increased more dust, smoke, nitrogen dioxide ,sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide in the atmosphere of the Kashmir valley. Unregulated and outdated industries, brick kilns, cement factories’; stone crushers etc. have become potent threats for the air quality and the environment of the valley. Illegal mining activities on fertile karewa lands particularly in district Budgam releases huge dust into the atmosphere that has become the new headache for the people due to its pollution and destruction of karewa lands. The rising air pollution in Jammu and Kashmir adversely affects human life in many ways. It causes respiratory diseases like tuberculosis, chest discomfort, and shortness of breath, chronic bronchitis, asthma attacks, chronic vascular diseases and even premature death. Allergies, itchy and redness in eyes, suffocation, vomiting, dizziness, headache etc. are other problems caused due to air pollution. Air pollution reduces oxygen carrying capacity of the haemoglobin and causes suffocation. The air pollution from many sources have local and global environmental impacts’ resulting in global warming, ozone layer depletion, acid rain, biodiversity loss, ecological imbalance, reduced crop productivity. For the better health and life of flora and fauna in a sustainable environment, joint and sincere efforts are needed at local level, community level and the government level to reduce the gravity of air pollution in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Education and awareness among the people about the importance of quality air through seminars, campaigns, workshops, debates, discussions etc. is the need of the hour. Promotion and adoption of green technology, Emission control technology, energy efficiency and global environment friendly technologies will lessen the air pollutants much extent in the atmosphere and improve air quality index of the Jammu and Kashmir. There should be proper transportation planning to reduce vehicular traffic. Green Vehicles’ like solar and electric cars should be promoted. The recent introduction of E. rickshaws in Jammu and Kashmir is a welcome and good step towards air pollution reduction. Installation of air pollution monitoring instruments, Use of alternative sources of energy like solar energy, wind energy, geothermal energy will reduce the air pollution at a larger level. Use of bicycles for smaller distances should be encouraged and promoted. Conversion of biodegradable waste into useful compost by eco-friendly methods should be encouraged and it will not only reduce air pollution but will improve our agriculture and vegetable yields that will fetch more prices. Trees are lungs on the earth should be protected from unnecessary axing. Reforestation and afforestation programs should be launched all across the state and strict implementation of air pollution prevention and control acts and Forest acts will definitely reduce air pollution for the betterment of the people and the environment.
(Author is a teacher at Govt High School Beerwa Budgam. The views, opinions, facts, assumptions, presumptions and conclusions expressed in this article are author’s own and aren’t necessarily in accord with the views of “Kashmir Horizon”.)
[email protected]