Amritsar: A United Nations Development Program (UNDP) team on Wednesday visited various parts of Amritsar city as part of a team to assess the air pollution levels to enable a future action program to address the issue. A UNDP official who was part of the touring team said, “We are here as part of a UN mission to look at the implementation of the national clean air program in most affected cities of India. Amritsar also figures in this list.”
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He added,
I represent UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Organization) which is related to industrial development. So, I am looking at industrial emissions and clean technologies. We are looking at a multi-pronged approach to tackle this problem. At UNIDO, we are looking at industries adopting clean boilers and clean technologies.
“At this stage, there is no commitment to action as we are scoping the problem at this point. We are also looking at alternative measures to tackle this problem,” he said.
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Another UNDP official remarked,
At this stage, PM (Particulate Matter) 2.5 is around 30 which is not a big concern. But diesel usage as fuel for generators is a concern. We should look at alternative forms of energy. I think the government of India’s clean air program is pretty encouraging. We would discuss the plan of action for the future after doing an assessment of the levels of air pollution.
The UNDP officials observed the industrial units in the city and also paid a visit to the Harmandir Sahib Gurudwara, which is an iconic landmark of the city.
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DTV – Dettol Banega Swachh India campaign lends support to the Government of India’s Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM). Helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan, the campaign aims to spread awareness about hygiene and sanitation, the importance of building toilets and making India open defecation free (ODF) by October 2019, a target set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, when he launched Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in 2014. Over the years, the campaign has widened its scope to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and menstrual hygiene. The campaign has also focused extensively on marine pollution, clean Ganga Project and rejuvenation of Yamuna, two of India’s major river bodies.
