In this era of industrialization a developing country like Nepal is facing a lot of problems. Rapid progress in industrialization and mechanization has resulted over exploitation of natural resources. Though development is slowly or rapidly taking place in our country but due to lack of management and over exploitation of resources has been hampering the nature. Air pollution has been a major problem in Nepal and especially in its capital Kathmandu.
Sudden changes in weather, acid rains, late changes in season, dangerous seasonal flu, global warming etc. are some of the impacts of pollution.
The major causes of air pollution are increased number of vehicles and industries. Some minor causes are forest fires, dust particles, etc. Nepal itself is a small country and its capital is one of the smallest in terms of area but, the population is more. The number of vehicles has increased rapidly and hence, the emission from vehicles has also increased relatively. The main reason of vehicular emission is large number of poorly maintained vehicles, poor quality of fuels and lubricants, and unmanaged traffic and transportation system.
As a civilian living inside the valley I have seen how much dirty the capital is. People though being aware of the condition keep neglecting the situation. I have seen tons of people throwing garbage on the street instead of the recycle bin just some distance ahead. People are burning wastes near the streets trying to keep the environment pollution free. The only thing that bothers me is that almost every people living inside the valley are aware of the increasing pollution but very few are there who actually care about it.
The increase in the pollution level has been inversely affecting the population itself. A lot of abnormal climate changes and other natural hazards have been occurring in the capital. These abnormal changes are giving rise to many new kinds of diseases and viral flus. Sudden changes in weather, acid rains, late changes in season, dangerous seasonal flu, global warming etc. are some of the impacts of pollution. Developments of respiratory diseases, heart diseases, lung cancer, etc. are some long term health problems caused by pollution. Pollution can also cause long term damage to people’s nerves, brain, kidneys, liver and other organs.
Air pollution can be controlled by implementation of reduce, reuse and recycle principle. Running vehicles in odd even system at least once a week. Implementation of proper waste management systems like using organic waste to prepare manure, reusing or recycling wastes like bottles, glass and other plastic wastes, disposing chemical wastes safely somewhere away from human civilization and in such a place where its effects will be minimum.
In order to keep our surroundings clean actually no big steps are required. The best way would be disposing wastes and garbage in proper place which is the recycle bin. If we don’t create a mess we don’t need to clean it. We should reduce littering wastes if we don’t see any dustbins nearby. For instance, if you are eating a chocolate while walking on the streets and you don’t see a dustbin nearby to throw away its wrapper, you could carry that wrapper in your pocket or in your bag and throw it away in some place where you find a dustbin. If changing a small habit of yours can bring a good change in the environment then why not change ourselves.
Keeping our surroundings clean will be very effective for reducing pollution. It is not possible to completely shut down some factory or running vehicles but it is possible and easy to keep our surrounding clean. The problem I have seen among the people is they keep blaming others when they are also the ones who are committing the same mistake as others.
In conclusion pollution is something that only has negative impacts. It harms the nature as well as the humans. Taking small precautions can reduce pollution. Change in some regular habits can help reduce the pollution which will not only benefit you but your whole surroundings. It is true that development of nation is important but focusing just on developing is giving rise to another life threating issue. Keeping development and also maintaining the pollution is the best option for a healthy as well as a prosperous life.
Writer – Anurodh Shakya
BBA 1st year
Kathmandu University School of Management,
Kathmandu, Nepal.
