By Dr. K. Javeed Nayeem, MD

As we march along with the rapidly changing times that we are in, we encounter newer and newer problems, for which we have to find solutions, some of which are not easy to come by. But this is the inevitable price we have to pay for progress and there is just no escape from it.

One such major problem the entire world is facing today, is of the growing environmental pollution which is entirely due to our present-day lifestyle and rapidly growing population. There was no problem that went by this name till the advent of industrial revolution and increasing use of fossil fuels started, at the commencement of last century.

Until then, when men were contented with being old-fashioned agriculturists, growing or gathering what they wanted and sharing or exchanging what was with them in excess, we too, just like all the other inhabitants of this world, were not leaving any carbon footprints whatsoever, on our planet.

But now, that old-fashioned contentment has gone missing, with our growing dependence on and a demand for an easier and more affluent lifestyle, where flaunting what we are and have, seems to be more important than our contentment. That is why today, as we battle our many lifestyle diseases, we are even constantly watching what kind of air we are breathing, as we gasp and pant for breath.

Until very recently, it was only in our biggest and most industrialised cities that air quality was a matter of concern. But of late, a new kind of danger to the air quality seems to be emerging, most surprisingly, not from rapid industrialisation or the use of fossil fuels, but from agricultural areas and activities too, which hitherto were considered to be our best carbon sinks, keeping our air clean.

With the growing use of farm machinery for agricultural activities, thanks to a rapidly dwindling human work force, farmers across our once agriculture intensive country are depending less and less on animals for tilling their farms.

Until these were around, doing their work, instead of the tractors that do it now, the hay that was the byproduct of agriculture was in much demand as animal fodder. But today, hay has no takers and farmers too who have no use for it, are forced to dispose it off by burning it in their fields. This is the only way out for them now and this activity in the neighbouring States is the one on which the entire blame for the shockingly bad air quality of cities like Delhi is being foisted.

Not many inhabitants of Delhi are willing to talk about the smoke that spews out from the daily grind of the city, which has a staggering four hundred and eighty vehicles for every thousand citizens. All the fog and smog that forces schools and colleges to be shut there periodically, in the post-harvest winter months, is attributed largely to stubble burning which has been banned by law, although the authorities vested with the responsibility of imposing it are unable to implement it effectively.

It is not just Delhi that suffers from this problem but most other areas of North India too. The South too seems to be slowly but surely coming under its effect. Just two days ago there was a report in the newspapers that the Krishna and the Tungabhadra basins in our own State, where rice is the predominant crop that is grown, have been getting choked by thick smoke and smog.

Interestingly, these are areas with very few motor vehicles and almost no heavy industries. We are shown visuals regularly in the media, of the famed Taj Mahal, almost completely shrouded in dense smog in the background, with ghostly figures of disappointed tourists in the foreground. These make good visuals and good impact too, no doubt, to press for some corrective action, but no one seems to be able to suggest how we should go about it.

The fact is that along with making emission norms stricter and standards higher for vehicles, we need to do something to make things easier for our farmers to dispose the waste that agriculture generates, season after season. It has been estimated that for a kilogram of grain produced, a kilogram of hay too is produced. Sadly, beyond using this hay as fodder for their livestock, as they used to in the past, or burning it away, as they are doing in the present, they know of no other way to put it to any use.

But there are many options today about which our governments, both at the Centre and the States should enlighten and aid them in adopting. For instance, our neighbouring countries like Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia which too are predominantly agricultural economies, have been doing so over many years now.

Rice straw and husk and banana fibre too, are being used to produce many products like disposable plates, insulating boards, cattle and poultry feed, paper, cardboard and even high-density plastic-like materials that can be easily moulded or extruded into complex shapes. Having done this they have even been able to capture widespread export markets for their products for which the demand is only growing, enriching themselves in the process.

The time therefore seems to have come for our farmers too, to stop burning their haystacks and make hay, while the sun shines!

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