Policymakers talk about Kolkata’s Air Pollution and usefulness of AQLI

In the recent past, Kolkata’s deterioratingair quality along with several other cities in the Indo-Gangetic Plains hasgrabbed headlines. To enable citizens and policymakers know about howparticulate pollution is affecting their health and their communities; andreveal the benefits of policies to reduce particulate pollution, the EnergyPolicy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC) has developed a pollutiontool called Air Quality Life Index (AQLI) that tells its users about how muchlonger would they live if they breathed clean air.

City-based doctors, journalists, civil societyrepresentatives, and students attended a workshop organized in Kolkata thatrevealed details about AQLI and other air pollution-related challenges thatclouds capital city’s air. The meeting jointly organized by Active CitizensTogether For Sustainability (ACTS) and EPIC India was held at the BhawanipurEducational Society College on 27th January 2020.

Sharing her insights on the impact of airpollution on human health during the workshop, Dr. Sanjukta Dutta from FortisHospital, Kolkata added, “The health costs of breathing in polluted air isenormous. In my so many years of treating patients, I have seen a considerablerise in the number of patients who suffer from allergic and respiratorydisorders. It’s sad and worrying to see that Kolkata's air which we inhale tolive is now bringing ill health, even early death.”

Talking about how residents can play an activerole in curbing air pollution, Dr. Deepanjan Majumdar, Principal Scientist, andHead NEERI said, “Over the years we are seeing multiple sources of airpollution. Along with government efforts we need a shift in lifestyles to saveguard human life from toxic air pollutants.”

Taking a cue from that, Ajay Mittal of Kolkatafor Clean Air added, “It’s now high time that citizens and policymakers ofKolkata understand that we need urgent as well as long term measures to addressthis problem. Only when air pollution becomes headlines for media houses, getstalked about by the policymakers, can the situation change. It’s a complexchallenge and its killing all of us silently.”

The workshop attended by Dr. Kalyan Rudra Chairman, WBPCB among others aimed at collectively raisingpollution literacy and was attended by more than 50 participants representingdifferent stakeholder groups of Kolkata.

All the participants were handed over a city-specific AQLI handout for increasing their awareness.

AQLI FACT SHEET FOR KOLKATA