Table of Contents
Ecology Concern
Generally the residential complexes in urban areas are located far away from the industrial pockets and busy-noisy roads. Despite this, can we say that the air in our surroundings is pure and free from pollution?
You would have seen that the people pluck flowers from others’ plant beds without seeking the permission of the person who had planted them. When you ask them they say that they are plucking it to offer it to the God. Just think over it. Would the God be pleased by taking those flowers plucked from someone else’s garden? The reason behind creating floral gardens in the house is that the people do it to add a beautiful look to their abode and also to protect the environment.
It really is not very good to see that the front of the house is fully cemented with no touch of greenery or floral garden. To make the front-view of the house beautiful and eye-soothing, the people create gardens of flowers. However, the tendency of some of the peoples to pluck flowers from somebody’s garden really dampens our enthusiasm to go for it. Today the situation has come that forget the plan of beautifying your house with floral gardens, people don’t even thinks of creating a grassy-green patches in front of their houses. We painstakingly plant plants of flowers in the front of our houses but there are some unscrupulous people who pluck flowers from there rather than to go to distant floral-shops to buy fowers.
Our approach has become one sided. Whenever we talk of environmental pollution, we only talk about curly-black smoke emitting from the industrial complexes. We never even find it necessary to think that how badly we ourselves have polluted our surroundings. The situations in the metro cities have worsened even more.
Here the density of population is very high and the houses are very congested. Greenery is very less. Builders have not left space for creating green patches. We have also constructed rooms on the places where green patches could have been created. Moreover, we have created parking lots in those places that could have been made “green-corners.” Even the streets and footpaths in our colonies also are cemented. This also deprives us of creating green-zones. More dangerous is that huge part of the parks has also become cemented. Very less place is left for the trees. Especially this condition is proving very dangerous for the kids.
Last year Department of Respiratory Medicine, Patel Chest New Delhi in its report warned that the numbers of the Asthma patients are continuously increasing and the kids are being affected more.
In Delhi, the most affected part is Shahdara lying at the eastern part of the metropolis. Here, 437 cases were found having asthma. The condition in other colonies is more or less the same. When going towards the villages, the cases found were less. In Daulatpuri, it was 325 cases while in Jagatpuri (also in east Delhi) the cases of asthma were 325.
It is not that these figures are of Delhi Metropolitan City only. This is only the example. More or less, this figure is found in almost every big city. More critical condition is that the small kids, housewives and the elder people who stays at home. They are becoming victim of this serious disease.
Actually the articles we are storing for our easiness are becoming dangerous for surroundings and environment. Someday ask a senior citizen that how much daily waste used to be thrown in his times. The waste one day today is more than ten days waste in the past. Today everything is disposable and contains chemical. All these articles are dumped after use in the open plots near our houses and it releases poison in our air which we inhale.
We are keeping lines of vehicles in our house and on the other hand we complain of air pollution. Not only vehicles, new varieties of carpet, furniture and curtains, all are becoming the storage of thin dust granules. All these create hindrances in inhaling. Means the more you run after show off, the more problematic it becomes for you. Glittering cleanliness and pesticides sprayed for freeing us from the trouble of mosquitoes gives us temporary relief but at the same time, the chemicals affect dangerously to the whole respiratory system in addition to the lungs.
For our own interest we are polluting the air, this is not richness, but it is the poverty of the thought.
The Air Should Give us Life-Support
If knowingly or unknowingly our own activities pollute our air, our small efforts can make this pure also. This is the question of our survival. Our life and those of our kith and kin depend on this. We have to be extra careful. Like:
- Do not get cemented the whole area. Do not finish the possibility of plants to grow. Some part of the house should be left soiled.
- Do planting in the house. Yes! Avoid to keep them in the room. When in the night doors and windows are closed, these plants exhale carbon-dioxide, which is harmful for the human being.
- Do dusting regularly. If you have a pet, take care of the cleanliness with utmost care. Do not use pesticide for mosquitoes and cockroaches. And also do not do smoking.
- While constructing, leave ample space for the plant beds. Go for fruit-bearing trees which exhale more oxygen. Avoid planting decorative plants.
- If you are not able to leave space for a kitchen garden, make a small garden on the terrace. You can keep big flower plants in the gallery also.
- In the colony or in the neighborhood, use cycles instead of scooter or motorized bike. Also encourage your children to use cycles in the colony or inner streets where traffic is less.
- Put the dustbin in its proper place. Avoid burning the dry leaves. This also adds pollution in the air.
- Take initiative in developing the surrounding parks.
- Even if not on big scale, but start planning from your colony. Let the people be aware of this. Make small groups. Make continuous efforts. Do not restrict it to Environment Day Celebration only.
- Instead of watching TV encourage your children for outdoor games. Thus they will come close to the nature. Try to spare sometime for going out to nearby green spots. This will enhance their knowledge.
- Do not waste the paper. Make full use of the paper. Instead of napkins and tissue papers, use handkerchief, and use cloth bag. Don’t use the plastic bags.
- Instead of heavy wooden furniture, use light furniture made of Bamboo. This grows very fast.
- While doing underground drainage, take care of tree safety. Your little extra care will save the tree routes from being destroyed.
- Suggest the office canteen staff to avoid disposables. Instead they can use ceramic cups, which are not easily broken.
- Most important yet small point; pay all the bills on line to avoid paper and time wastage.
Save Trees
In addition to growing plants, it is also necessary to save the trees. New technique is helpful in this. The trees coming in between the road or building construction is normal. Shri Prem Joshi of Indore has till today been able to relocate more than 2000 trees. In this big trees are taken through its routes with special care. Then on the other place huge digging is done and then such trees are replanted. It expands its routes in the new soil also.
More to that in huge cutting of trees, some people are creating forests by planning. The students of Forest Management Institutes are doing plant cultivation through Japanese technique “Miyavakee”. In this technique the empty space within the trees can also be used.
You will be surprised to know
- Every year 15 million trees are cut by the people. From the beginning of the civilization till today 46% of the tress have been cut.
- On an Oak tree 300 types of insects and other life creatures can reside.
We have to share the responsibility of saving the trees, plants and nature so that our environment is saved and our children can breathe where they live.
Vinita Raj
