Can you breathe without complaining?

Irsquom tired of people moaning about how the air in Bombay is bad and increasingly unfit for human beings Yes October may have marked the second time in 2026 that the Air Quality Index was worse than Delhirsquos and yes it is true that the city topped Indiarsquos pollution rankings and now stands fifth globally on Swiss air technology company iQAirrsquos list Those worrying statistics shouldnrsquot compel us to complain about pollution all the time though We must learn to remind ourselves as often as possible that this is Indiarsquos financial capital and that being able to live here is a privilege we shouldnrsquot take for grantedIn fact even as you read this there is a solid plan being put into place to reduce dust on the streets If everything goes well a lot of money will be spent on vacuum cleaning machines that will suck up a few things Sprinklers will also be deployed and vehicles used for transporting construction debris will have to be completely covered This is all cuttingedge stuffI am aware that cynics may have a few things to say about the construction itself being a problem but I would like to point out that in case no one has noticed Bombay doesnrsquot have much to offer besides new homes anymore Drive down the Western Express Highway this week make a note of every hoarding or advertising billboard and list what is being sold There is no transformative technology or innovative new product All you will see are ads for new homes loans that can help you purchase those new homes and announcements for reality shows that the outside world has outgrown Construction is all we have leftGiven this reality imagine what would happen if construction were to stop in the city just so residents could breathe a little better Is it okay to sacrifice the wealth and wellbeing of our ministers bureaucrats businessmen and the real estate lobby just so you can avoid cardiovascular damage or your children can have fewer respiratory illnesses Doesnrsquot the lsquogreater goodrsquo mean anything to us anymoreItrsquos not as if the government doesnrsquot care about this or is unaware of the issue In February this year a cancerscreening campaign was shared in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Authorities from the Maharashtra Health Department reportedly conducted the campaign identifying 1677 patients across the state and found that lung cancer accounted for 57 of diagnosed cancer cases in Bombay Environmental pollution was identified as a key contributing factor In other words it is only a matter of time before the people in charge start to address pollution and find solutionsI would also like to point out that while many of us may believe things like better public transport clean energy more trees and stronger industrial controls may resolve this problem very quickly itrsquos probably a lot more complicated than we realize If therersquos one thing that the BMC and government of Maharashtra have taught me over many decades in this city it is that simple solutions cannot be implemented There have to be many committees a lot of tenders and budgets for technology imported from foreign countriesThis isnrsquot to say that we should all give up hope According to news reports published just a week ago the municipal corporation has already been asked to lsquoprocure the necessary equipmentrsquo and lsquoadopt technological solutionsrsquo for road cleaning dust control and regular pollution monitoring That to me is a sign that some of the smartest people amongst us are already using Google to find out what they need to do I also foresee a series of factfinding study trips abroad for BMC employees and corporators who will return with wisdom from the West on how to tackle pollution hereUntil that happens my request to residents of Bombay is this everyone who has lived here long enough knows that the city is being rendered unliveable Everyone knows it is being stripped of resources and sold for parts Everyone knows that trees are a liability and that land can be better utilised when luxury homes are constructed on it However we shouldnrsquot forget that this is a small price to pay All you have to deal with are a few decades of discomfort In return some of your children who survive into old age will find themselves in a concrete wonderland and thank you for your sacrifice Think about that the next time you take a breath and start to coughWhen he isnrsquot ranting about all things Mumbai Lindsay Pereira can be almost sweet He can be contacted at wwwlindsaypereiracomSend your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomThe views expressed in this column are the individualrsquos and donrsquot represent those of the paper