Treat air pollution as national emergency, Cong MP Ashok Singh tells govt in RS

New Delhi, Dec 18 (PTI) Congress Rajya Sabha MP Ashok Singh on Wednesday expressed serious concerns over air pollution in Delhi-NCR, and asked the government to treat the problem as a national emergency.

Raising the matter during the Zero Hour in the House, the Congress member said the entire country is struggling to breathe.

He said the Delhi-NCR and surrounding areas are suffocating, and the poisonous air is afflicting people with various diseases.

Singh said the polluted air was damaging various organs of body.

The poisonous air, he said, is getting mixed in blood and causing heart attacks and affecting kidneys.

"Situation is so worse that countries like Canada and Singapore have issued travel advisory (for India) to their citizens," the Congress MP said.

He further said there was a need to implement a national mission for clean air on a war footing.

Emphasising that just blaming Diwali and stubble burning will not suffice, the Congress member made several suggestions to address air pollution.

He said the government should treat air pollution as a seasonal issue, but rather consider the matter as a national health emergency.

Singh said the government should keep a strict vigil on construction activities, landfill sites, and industrial emissions, throughout the year.

"Every citizen should get clean air," he said.

He also suggested setting up an inter-state coordination committee to deal with the air pollution menace.

During the Zero Hour, Syed Naseer Hussain (Congress) raised the matter concerning the discontinuation of air connectivity to Kalaburagi, a backward and aspirational district of Karnataka.

The Kalaburagi-Delhi and Kalaburagi-Bengaluru flights operated under the regional connectivity scheme, UDAN, have been discontinued, he said.

The withdrawal of these flights has caused serious hardship to students, patients, government officials, businesspersons, and the general public, who are now forced to rely on long and unreliable road and rail journeys, he said.

Stressing that regional air connectivity is not a luxury, Hussain said it is a necessity for inclusive development.

It is high time that connectivity to Kalaburagi and other such regions is restored, the Congress MP said. PTI NKD TRB