Academics and Policymakers in Chandigarh discuss air pollution and AQLI

University of Chicago’s Air Quality Life Indexindicates that residents in Chandigarh may be losing upto 5.9 years of theirlives because of breathing polluted air. An awareness workshop in this regardwas conducted by EPIC India in partnership with Panjab University in Chandigarhon 3rd March 2020. The workshop was attended by Mr. T. C. Nautiyal, (IFS) CF,Department of Forests & Wildlife cum, Member Secretary, ChandigarhPollution Control Committee, amongst other distinguished guests.

Addressing participants on the occasion, Mr.T. C. Nautiyal, said, “Ensuring clean air and environment is a collectiveresponsibility of the administration and citizens. The pollution control boardin Chandigarh has always believed in policies that are people-centric andencourage citizens to participate and work with us together as a team for ourcity. Initiatives like AQLI are a good step in that process and there is a lotthat we can mutually benefit as a society from exchanging this information andtaking the right steps to ensure a healthy environment for the citizens of thiscity.”

Sharing his insights on the impact of airpollution on human health, respiratory medicine specialist and renownedpulmonologist from the city, Dr. Sanchit Wadhwa said, “There is an obviouschange in the air quality of Chandigarh. The rise of respiratory-relatedillnesses has also seen an upward curve in the past few years. Rapidurbanization, traffic emissions, people’s lifestyle and of course emissionscoming from districts surrounding the city do impact the citizens' healthnegatively.”

Speaking at the workshop, Mr. Pramod Sharma,Founder of Yuvsatta, added, “Proactive citizens are the backbone of any goodsociety. Air pollution is one of the biggest challenges we face, not just inChandigarh, but the world over. Yuvsatta has been working on a lot ofinitiatives with aware citizens and young people. Platforms like AQLI aremuch-needed help in that process. Today's workshop is just the beginning of apositive people movement towards ensuring clean air for Chandigarh and settingan example for the rest of India.”

Talking about how civil society & themedia can play an active role in helping highlight air pollution, seniorjournalist Mr. Dinesh Goyal said, “For a tiny city that we have, I don’t findjournalists in Chandigarh giving appropriate space for stories related tocritical issues like air pollution. We have platforms like AQLI that are givingus critical information. We need to be more proactive collectively asmedia.”

The workshop, meant to raise awareness about the impact of pollution on human health, was attended by more than 70 participants, consisting of students & faculty from various streams at Panjab University, representatives from local civil society organizations & city journalists. All the participants were handed over a city-specific AQLI handout for increasing their awareness.

AQLI FACT SHEET FOR CHANDIGARH