Who is responsible for our current climate crisis in Delhi?

Who is
responsible for our current climate crisis in Delhi?

‘Enough’
is ‘enough’ ‘stop’ ‘blame’ game

Delhi’s choking is in the news every year during this period. This year, it broke all the ‘box office’ records of worst air quality. The Supreme Court ‘acted’ as a ‘concerned’ authority. It asked the Delhi and other related government to ‘stop’ ‘blame’ game. It has given some order and ‘decided’ that ‘enough’ is ‘enough’.

Arvind
Kejriwal blamed the Punjab farmers while BJP and Congress blamed Arvind
Kejriwal for all that was happening in Delhi where air quality is ‘good enough’
to send you to some ‘asthma cure’ centres.

Netas are
‘protesting’ in the street.

Some students’
organisations and other groups too are ‘protesting’ that ‘Delhi must be given
clean air’ as if you can buy it from Reliance’s Big Bazar.

Watching the
protest of the people, I found how hypocrite are politicians as well as public.

The question
we must ask today is whether Delhi’s environmental crisis is because farmers
are burning stubble or are farmers being used as soft target ignoring the vast
construction activities, vehicular pollution and above all, despite all
pretensions, our ‘festivals’ which we glamorise so much.

Modern day,
commercialised, Diwali and other festivals have become the biggest threat for
our environment and actually a disaster for our future if we don’t change the
mode to celebrate them. There was a time when crackers were burst only during
the Diwali day but now the trend has been extended during the Dussehra, Chhuth
as well as marriage parties, India- Pakistan matches and various other
festivals.

I am here in
the Eastern Uttar Pradesh and every year I come to this place particularly
during the festivities of Diwali to protect myself from the torture that we
face in Delhi but here too crackers were burst, noise pollution
was already there through temples but on Chhutth day, we have seen crackers
being burst.

Next
morning, we saw smog all over but we don’t care. We are hell bent to please our
gods who can’t do anything but will only help the Brahmanical interests.

When I was
flying from Chennai to Gorakhpur and came via Delhi, I can say that the smog
was not merely in the Delhi sky, it had actually spread across the other part
of Northern India and various satellite images now confirm that.

It is
painful to see how India’s smaller towns too are now being choked.

And it will
continue as long as our political class and people at large will not act. we
will destroy our environment and No God will be able to help India if people don’t
act.

That is why
I remember Periyar who was the man who had the courage to speak up against evils
of religion. There were many other reformers who spoke against these religious
evils which are one of the reasons of continuous destruction of our
environment.

Can’t we
imagine how much north India engulfed in darkness on the Diwali day but once
you raise this question the deliberate thing will be what about Christmas and
Eid and I tell all these that no other festival match in destruction of nature
as the current form of Diwali if bursting of the cracker is considered to be
essential ‘religious’ activity.

No political
leader of the modern time, can appeal to people not to burst crackers and greet
each other, light divas. Why can’t the government act against the cracker
factories but it won’t because it will allow things to come from the source and
penalise the poor workers.

Our
festivals are related to crop and I have mentioned it many times but given the
nature today, we need to have a serious look at the way we celebrate them. On
the Holi, we burnt so much of wood all over the country. Can anyone imagine burning
of wood at the time when it will not be available even for burning the dead
bodies. That apart, we destroy our environment.

Chhatthh has
finished shortly. The festival is called ‘festival’ of nature but the fact is
these are celebration of male supremacy.

Right from
Karwachowth to bhai dooj and now Chhath, they all are part of our male
dominated Brahmanical system but none of the politicians will ever speak
against them. None of our ‘revolutionaries’ will speak.

Now, Chhatth
has been cleverly ‘nationalised’ through TV channels and rivers and banks are
all filled with mass of people. The next day, you find only garbage on these
banks. The photographs of women worshiping sun in the highly polluted Yamuna
river. I am amazed to see the ‘faith’ that makes these women including young
girls to give ‘ardhya’ to sun standing in the hugely intoxicated water of
Yamuna. I am not ‘impressed’ in their ‘faith’ but can only pity at their
ignorance. I am shocked that political leaders and government did not advise people
not to go to these dangerous polluted areas in the name of faith. It should
have stopped but then it won’t because our politicians remain highly hypocrite.

India is
destroying its natural resources in the name of faith.

Watch your
festivals of Durga Puja, Ganesh Puja and the amount of garbage is left over
after the ceremony. After the festivals are over, we immerse all the idols in
the rivers and seas. Have anybody said why this can’t stop. How will you keep
your water bodies clean and safe with such massive level of rubbish is flown
into them?

It is not
the issue or north or south. It is the issue of our cultural corruption.

Fight to
protect environment is not just a government job. In fact, politicians and
governments don’t have courage to speak things bluntly as they are habitual of
using these ‘religious’ events to further their political agenda. Once you have
seen ignorance is bliss for politicians, they won’t make a comment but our
constitutional bodies must work, our environment Ministry must act, we must
have river protection department and stop people from further polluting them.
Faith cannot be a pretence to destroy our environment. Don’t blame farmers of
Punjab for the evils of Delhi, have courage to complete halt the crackers and
immersion of idols in various parts of the country.

Reduce
vehicular traffic and stop your ‘developmental’ activities at the cost of our
nature. No developmental work should be allowed unless an impartial
environmental assessment study is done and approve it. Of course, we know how
this is done these days. Modi ji is ‘developing’ a new plan to ‘develop’ Delhi.
The historical buildings might become ‘history’. So further digging and
polluting of the city will continue. A green Delhi has been converted into
cemented zone which will choke it further.

It is time we all understand the dangers of our ignorance and superstitions which are now threatening our environment. Our ‘developmental’ module is also helping the corrupt and cronies and has nothing to worry about protecting earth. Can they protect our nature who want to ‘exploit’ everything in it? We need to place our priorities well only then we will be able to protect our right to breathe fresh air otherwise situation is going to worsen in future.

Vidya
Bhushan Rawat

November 5th, 2019