New Delhi : The Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) recently sponsored a campaign to sell fresh air in Delhi.
Can bottled fresh air be an effective counter to pollution in India? It is an idea that can be given thought to.
Change the water, change the air, change this atmosphere, yes, but also change the way we live and approach our day-to-day lives.
The marketing of fresh air is yet to take off in India, though in places like China and Canada, it is a campaign that is gaining ground and acceptance.
In Delhi’s Connaught Place and India Gate areas, recently some young people, with the backing of GAIL, were seen selling packaged fresh air from the mountains for a price ranging between Rs. 1000 and Rs. 2000. The objective was just to make people aware of the importance of fresh air and the price humanity is paying for not having it.
Delhi is in the list of the world’s most polluted cities. According to the World Economic Forum, among the 20 most populated cities of the world, 18 are in Asia, and out of these, 13 are in India itself.
In China, air quality has become so bad that bottled fresh air is reportedly being sold there. The Chinese have also started to gift clean air to each other. A Canadian company, ‘Vitality Air’, is selling fresh air to people. ‘Vitality Air’ is selling ‘Premium Oxygen’ at USD 28, which amounts to Rs. 1, 870.
Seen in the Indian context, the idea of marketing bottled fresh air seems unfeasible, given that over 70 percent of its population is rural and just cannot afford it.
To curb pollution un India, effective steps need to be taken. (ANI)