Parisar has been actively engaging with different stakeholders over the last few years for creating awareness about air pollution, alongside policy advocacy for it with the PMC and other related authorities. Air pollution being a multi-sectoral issue, it seemed only logical for people working in various sectors like health, waste management, education, mobility, gender equality, and corporates to come together to work on it. Parisar initiated the formation of the “Pune Air Action Hub” to take up issues and actions with the aim to reduce air pollution in the city and to minimise the health impacts on citizens.
The first convening brought together members who were more oriented to how the issue of air pollution affects them and their core area of work, and who are in a position to be vocal about the issue and are able to create awareness about it in their own groups. Pulmonologist, Dr. Aparna Birajdar covered the health impacts of air pollution in depth, followed by the Pune Environment Officer Mangesh Dighe who spoke about the ‘Pune Air Action Plan’.
Pulmonologist, Dr Aparna Birajdar, speaking about the health impacts of air pollution
The discussions that ensued were about the state of Pune's Air, sources of air pollution like waste management, citizens' initiatives to fight air pollution, problems they face and so on. The topic of transportation stood out as an important talking point, as vehicular emission is the largest contribution to Pune’s source of the hazardous pollutant PM2.5 (Particulate Matter), followed by waste management, owing to the open burning of unmanaged waste. The Hub has convened thrice since its inception in August 2022 and has taken up issues to act upon, and the members are in regular touch through a whatsapp group.
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Break out sessions in progress |
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