Aditya Sinha: Can't mask how bad it is in Delhi

The smog here is like a 1950s American horror movie and its depressing to wake up and see a yellowish haze instead of the skyDuring my 100minute evening walk last week I saw a man walking his gorgeous Alsatian Like me he wore a pollution mask but his doggie did not Poor doggie does it not have a respiratory system As usual the selfishness of suburban Delhi makes people do illogical things Like the lady I saw during my walk who also wore a pollution mask while she was stepping into her SUV diesel vehicles are the singularly the most polluting automobiles Or the jogger who sped past me wearing a surgical mask which anyone will tell you is ineffective against particulate pollution be it PM 25 or PM 10Teenagers venture out on their bicycles amid heavy smog and air pollution that reached high levels in New Delhi on Sunday PicPTII had no choice but to order online a packet of N95 pollution masks My walks till Diwali were incidentfree but after Diwali I took a break first because I fasted for Chhath Puja and then because the day after Chhath I flew to Bangkok I was back to walking on October 31 and found a poisonous taste accumulating at the back of my throat The next two days I found that during my walk on two or three occasions there was a slight stab of pain in my upper right chest My father who despite his Alzheimers quickly grasps and diagnoses medical situations said pollution had caused a mild infection in my lung and that I ought to wear a mask while outdoors Being of strong constitution all my life I was momentarily alarmed but then got the pollution masks Lo and behold The poisonous taste and pain disappeared I have decided that when the next midday payment arrives I will buy an air purifierThats how bad it is in the National Capital Region NCR My smartphone every morning describes the weather as Smoke My son Barun does not even need to look at his phone on particularly bad mornings like last Wednesday the pollution makes him wheeze and he wakes up Barun is a musician and one afternoon I advised that he and his bandmate wear masks at their next performance to protest against public apathy over the worsening air They did notThe smog is like a 1950s American horror movie and does not recognise state borders or even international borders Lahore is apparently worse off than Delhi and some of its residents even blame it on crossborder burning of wheat stubble Lahore has had its share of pileup car accidents You may have seen the viral video of cars smashing into each other in the thick smog One wonders why none used the flashing hazard lights on their cars or even their headlamps most drivers are too intelligent for that mdash they drive on the wrong side of the road and misuse their highbeam at night Incidentally the burning of fields is supposed to end soon as farmers have a limited window of opportunity to sow seeds for the next wheat crop Thats one less cause for pollutionAlong my walking route there are three houses undergoing some type of construction In one a man used an electric saw on a slab of marble It produced a cloud of marble particles that made my lungs shudder Worse the two labourers working with the marble did not have any protection over their faces I thought to tell the homeowner or contractor that they were shortening these poor mens lifespans and that they could at least provide them with masks but you know that the callous tend to view earnest advice as eccentricIndeed the Aam Aadmi Party again began the oddeven plan to restrict cars depending on their licence numbers to show it was fighting pollution Im an admirer of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwals revolutions in health and education and I sympathise with him for being Prime Minister Narendra Modis target just because the BJP was thrashed in the last Assembly election However the oddeven plan is a demonetisationlike diktat The National Green Tribunal NGT on Saturday not only questioned the efficacy of this restriction but advised the Delhi government restrict twowheelers as well they form 30 per cent of the polluting vehicles That is obviously electoral suicide so the Delhi government postponed oddeven I prefer the Delhi Metro but only because I hate city drivingThe Chinese brought pollution down by shutting downshifting industries steel plants and coalbased power plants They have invested in wind and solar power on a war footing But we are not Chinese We proud Indians the inventors of plastic surgery and cow dung therapy will find our own wayIts depressing to wake up and see a yellowish haze like the postnuclear haze of Blade Runner 2049 instead of the sky My daughters recently instagrammed San Diegos gorgeous and velvet sunset All I could do was sigh and order another set of pollution masksAditya Sinhas crime novel The CEO Who Lost His Head is available now He tweets autumnshade Send your feedback to mailbagmiddaycom