Going for a morning stroll? New app will show you carbon neutral places

NT Correspondent

 Bengaluru

As air pollution is becoming a major crisis across the state, the forest department is gearing up to map all of the trees in Bengaluru and linking it with an app. This app will inform its users where the carbon neutral neighbourhoods are in the city so they can go on a healthy stroll.

 Vijay Mohan Raj, the Principal Secretary of forest, ecology and environment in the state was addressing the third day of the India Clean Air Summit 2022 event in Bengaluru when he announced the matter. The event was organised by the Centre for Air Pollution Studies.

The project is currently looking for CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) funds. He called for the government departments and the public to work together to tackle the crisis of air pollution. Vijay said that technological innovations that are sustainable must take place to retain the quality of the air before we reach the tipping point. He also added that the public is open to change and provided the example of electric vehicles ownerships increasing across the city.

 Dr Basha Khan, Director (Lung Transplant) at Narayana Healthcare said that air pollution has turned into an undeclared pandemic and affects both rural and urban populations equally. He added that although it might seem like the elite section of society is not experiencing consequences of air pollution, the real time scenario is entirely different.

He explained that most industries have shifted to semi-urban and rural areas, disrupting their clean area. He provided numbers to prove his stance and said each year, 1.9 million people die due to air pollution and that 1.8% GDP is lost due to it.

 Dr Rahul Patil, Cardiologist, Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research said that over the last five years, the hospital has had more than 5,000 patients, all aged under the year 40, with cases of heart attack. Most of the patients were cab drivers and the subsequent research indicated air pollution as the cause.

When they studied the risk factors and found that none of the usual risk factors like smoking or cholesterol were involved, they became suspicious and decided to conduct a study.