A study on air pollution in Peshawar has revealed a reduction in life expectancy and said the residents are losing two to three years of their life to the higher particulate matter.
The major sources of pollution are reported to be transport, industries, domestic solid fuel usage, municipal waste burning and dust. The situation should ring alarm bells and needful should be done to protect the health of our people.
Air pollution is not confined only to Peshawar but other major cities are also faced with the similar problem and requisite steps need to be taken in order to reverse this trend. Any negligence will only further complicate the issue as it will have direct bearing on our health expenditure as well as development of the country.
With the growing middle class, the purchase of vehicles is on the rise. Only in Peshawar between 2012 and 2020, the number of registered vehicles rose by 85%, while the largest increase of 168.8 per cent was noted in motorbikes. The vehicle figures are likely underestimated, as a significant number of vehicles plying on the roads are registered in Islamabad and other cities.
This huge flow of vehicles on roads could have been averted if we had provided a sustainable public transport system to the people as is the case in the European countries. Hence, mass transit transport systems should be developed in all the major cities to encourage the people use them instead of their own vehicles.
This will go a long way in reducing vehicular emission as well as rush on roads. Time has also come to convert to the environment-friendly electric vehicles and for this incentives should be given to the auto industry to ensure that these vehicles are well within the reach of the people.
Industry should also fulfil its responsibility and convert to such a technology that reduces the dangerous emissions. For instance kilns owners must convert to zigzag technology, and for this the provincial governments must extend full assistance to them.
The industries not showing compliance to the environmental guidelines must be penalized. The process of planting more trees and protecting them must continue to provide a clean air to our people and deal with the issue of climate change.
