TMC MP raises air pollution issue in LS, bats for ensuring right to breath

TMC MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar on Tuesday raised the issue of rising air pollution in several parts of the country in Lok Sabha and asked the government to ensure the right to breath clean air.

"Out of the 10 most polluted cities in the world, nine are in India...I would like to draw the government's attention towards it," Dastidar told the Lok Sabha.

Suggesting the government to launch a programme for clean air, she said, "When we have a 'Swachh Bharat Mission', can't we have a 'Swachh Hawa Mission'? Shouldn't we be ensured the right to breath clean air?... In Delhi, we might be staring at a situation of mass asphyxia."

She said German Chancellor Angela Merkel's comment about air pollution in New Delhi during her visit to India was "unnerving". "It is quite unnerving that a foreign Premier of a country who was on a visit to India, made an adverse comment," the TMC MP said.

During her visit to India earlier this month, Merkel expressed concern at the alarming pollution levels in the national capital and made a pitch for speeding up several environment-friendly projects including the introduction of electric buses to replace diesel ones for public transport in urban areas.

"Whoever has looked at pollution in Delhi yesterday would find very good arguments for replacing diesel buses with electric buses," she had said.

A public health emergency was announced in view of the alarming air pollution earlier this month in the Delhi-NCR region.