NEW DELHI: SEEDS (Sustainable Environment and Ecological Development Society) as a part of its Honeywell Safe Schools Program organized a community drive at Kotla village, Mayur Vihar Phase-1, East Delhi to educate children and public on the impact of pollution on the environment.
Air pollution is estimated to kill 1.5 million people every year, and is the fifth largest killer in India. Delhi is the worst hit in terms of pollution amongst major cities in the world. Adding to that, the impact of serious deterioration of air quality is much higher among the children.
This winter, just before Christmas, air pollution has already hit a hazardous level of 404 AQI (Air Quality Index), as per data by SAFAR (System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research) in Delhi-NCR. Honeywell Safe Schools Program takes this alarming issue as both a challenge and an opportunity and via the community drive hopes to build awareness and better understanding of air pollution among the public.
During the community drive, activities were undertaken to highlight the impact of pollution and how one can make improvements to the environment. Honeywell India along with SEEDS team staged a musical act on pollution to create awareness amongst the community. Visuals in the form of flash cards on the do’s and don’ts of pollution were displayed. Following this a transact walk of the area was undertaken to create conversations with passers-by on pollution.
While citizens of Delhi are today aware of the concept of air pollution, there are gaps in the perception about its causes and solutions. Many children in Delhi walk to school every day along busy roads, getting exposed to high doses of toxic chemicals and hazardous particulates, which have adverse effect on their growth. Understanding the need to keep children updated about the harmful effects of pollution, a kiosk for testing lung functioning was also set up as part of the campaign. Honeywell with SEEDS team also distributed flyers containing vital information to deal with air pollution problems.
The campaign will further be carried out in 5 more locations in Geeta Colony, Kalyanpuri, Krishna Nagar, West Guru Angad Nagar and Nehru Enclave in East Delhi.
