Voluntary lockdowns can help steady pollution graph: Experts

Lucknow: After the lockdown flattened the pollution curve, experts say ‘voluntary shutdowns’ and ‘janta curfews’ even for a few days in a year can help steady the graph. This will not only help the environment heal naturally, but also set in motion an auto-recovery mode for a threatened biodiversity, said ecologists on occasion of World Environment day on Friday.
These suggestions followed the release of a report on Thursday by Institute of Toxicology Research that found improvement in air and noise levels in the city during lockdown.However, pollution levels in the Gomti continued to be a cause for concern.
“The lockdown can be viewed as a blessing in disguise as it helped heal the environment by bringing down air, noise and water pollution. Citizens can keep the momentum going through awareness and self-implementation,” said director, Indian Institute of Toxicology Research Alok Dhawan.
“We should take lessons from UK, where everything shuts down on Sunday. People complete shopping and other work by Saturday and on Sunday, few venture out of homes, barring those in essential services. Only big complexes on outskirts remain open. This helps to control pollution,” he said.
Dhawan said, the ‘work from home’ model adopted by corporates and PSUs will also help reduce vehicular load on streets and cut emission of harmful gases from air conditioners in office. Proper planning by maintaining only 25% staff in office would be work-from-home good model, he added.
Director, air quality monitoring station, Lucknow University, Prof Dhruvsen Singh said, “Few days of lockdown in a year will be a great healer. Earth should be given time to rest and rejuvenate. Even a break of few days by shutting down industrial, construction and commercial activities will help maintain low pollution levels, he said.
“We have to learn to live in sync with nature and it’s essential all factories, traffic, construction sites be strictly monitored. Inculcating an environment-friendly approach in every individual is the need of the hour,” said environmentalist Venkatesh Dutta.