Indian man helps show importance of fresh air

NEW DELHI－As the Indian capital witnessed an alarming increase in air pollution recent months, a young man wearing an oxygen mask and carrying a 20-liter plastic water bottle strapped to his back was an unusual attraction.

The oxygen mask's transparent tube was looped and fitted to the neck of the water bottle. Inside the bottle was an artificial tree in full bloom.

It appeared as though the man was breathing oxygen from a bottle similar to those used in Indian cities to carry home purchased drinking water.

Standing in the middle of the busy road on a pavement in Noida－30 kilometers southeast of Delhi－as honking vehicles move past, the young man holds up a placard to passers-by.

"Plant tree. Save tree. Otherwise, this will happen in future," read a message in Hindi and English on the placard.

Cars and other vehicles usually speed past him without pausing.

However, when the traffic lights at the nearby signal show red, those who stop, peer avidly at his placard. Some smile, some make facial gestures and quite a lot more ignore him.

The man in his late 20s is Pankaj Kumar from the eastern state of Bihar.

For the past eight months, Kumar has embarked on a self-chosen mission to raise awareness among people in Delhi about pollution and the importance of trees and a clean environment.

Every day he straps the bottle to his back and wears the oxygen mask to roam around Noida, a commercial satellite city of Delhi.

"I do the awareness for six hours every day and I have been doing this for the past eight months in Noida, Gurgoan and Delhi," Kumar said.

Kumar works at a business process outsourcing company, or BPO, in Noida. He moved there nearly 10 years ago. His father is a vegetable vendor and his mother a housewife.

"The way climate is changing in our country and the danger that increasing pollution and global warming are posing forced me to embark on this campaign," Kumar said.

"Through my exercise, I want to raise awareness among the people how important trees are."

New Delhi is among the most polluted cities in the world.

Industrial activities and vehicular traffic are significant contributors to air pollution in the city, along with rampant construction. Every year around October and November, the air quality in New Delhi becomes even more hazardous.

Officials in Delhi blame stubble burning in the neighboring states of Punjab and Haryana for the increasing pollution.

The pollution level in Delhi soared dangerously in the second week in October. Then it surpassed the hazardous mark after the celebration on Oct 27 of Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights. Residents set off fireworks in the evening to celebrate, thereby abundantly contributing to the rising pollution and choking its air.

Last month air quality in the city remained in a hazardous range for nine consecutive days, the longest spell so far.

City authorities were forced to announce a public health emergency and close down schools. The government also enforced a car rationing scheme for 10 days after levels of PM 2.5－the particulate matter in the air that can penetrate into the lungs－surpassed 999 micrograms at many locations.

The World Health Organization, places the safe limit at 25 micrograms.

According to Kumar, efforts from the government and other non-governmental organizations to raise awareness of environmental pollution in the population have been restricted to billboards.

"People don't have time to read the billboards, so I decided to do it in an innovative way so that people can understand the consequences of what will happen," he said.