Volunteers in front of the Clean Air Express bus in Gurgaon on Monday
On the eve of World Asthma Day, Gurgaon Police, in collaboration with a private hospital, launched the “Save Your Lungs” campaign to increase awareness of the ill-effects of rising air-pollution levels.
Puran Kumar, joint commissioner of police, flagged off a special bus called "Clean Air Express” on Monday, May 2. It will carry 20 volunteers around the city to educate people on the need to control air pollution.
“During the campaign, a team of street-play artistes will perform at ten locations, such as traffic signals, across the city. There will also be volunteers wearing T-shirts with images of damaged lungs and pollution masks, who will display placards with different slogans educating people on the hazardous effects of air pollution,” said Kumar.
According to the organiser, Vijay Kannan, a similar event was held last year at Purana Quila to educate citizens on the issue.
“We aim to highlight the strong link between air pollution and asthma, and help people understand the importance of making simple yet effective changes in their lifestyle that can contribute to lowering air pollution,” Kannan said.
Dr Himanshu Garg, senior pulmonologist, said, “We need to understand that air pollution is taking a toll on our health, making us prone to asthma and other respiratory diseases. It not only aggravates matters for those with asthma and allergies, it also makes perfectly healthy people susceptible to respiratory problems.”
Delhi and NCR has recently come under the scanner for high levels of air pollution and increasing cases of respiratory disease. Experts believe that the situation calls for a long-term and sustained initiative from the government, policymakers and citizens.
