India's Smog Crisis: What Did the Government Do to Help Its People?

(Photo : Reuters)
People are plagued with persistent chest pain and cough due to pollution in New Delhi.

A new report from Global Alliance on Health and Pollution said that India has the highest number of deaths linked to pollution, with 2.3 million. While this is alarming, it is not exactly surprising. After all, 22 out of 30 most polluted cities in the world are situated in India.

Air pollution is especially worse in India. Even without looking at the death statistics, you can tell that their people were choking as the smog blanketed the entire New Delhi -- the most polluted city in the world. In November, the Indian capital's air quality index rose to alarming level of 473 -- almost five times the healthy range.

As the people fight for their right to breathe, various solutions were offered, and these are those:

1. Oxygen pack

You probably have heard this first from the 2012 film The Lorax, and it is sadly already happening.

Oxy Pure, a New Delhi-based startup launched in March this year, offered an "oxygen bar" which can give its user a 15-minute session of breathing "oxygen-enriched air" for about $7 per session. It is considerably pricey, especially for a country where an average daily expenditure is less than $2.

Canned air can also be bought online on several companies like Vitality Air in Canada and Indian brand Pure Himalayan Air for around $7.7 to $75, depending on the size of the can.

2. Odd-even car scheme

In hope of decongesting the road by putting out around four million private cars daily, the government of New Delhi imposed "odd-even" coding system in November for two weeks. This means a car with odd number can only be driven on odd days, and vice versa for even numbers.

3. Portable air purifier

If your job requires staying outside a lot, you probably have no choice but to invest on this wearing gadget that can be worn like a necklace. It costs around 10,000 rupees ($140) in New Delhi -- quite pricey for a basic right to breathe.

4. Artificial rain

Through the effort of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), New Delhi government approved the plan of creating artificial rain to "flush down" the pollution level. However, it was halted due to the absence of available aircrafts.

5. Roadside air purifier

The government has installed huge air purifiers on many busy intersections of New Delhi. Then, in November, a statewide installation of "smog towers" was ordered by the top court in India. The said facility is adapted from China and can absorb pollution.

However, it was criticized as it cannot solve the problem with small particulate which can enter the bloodstream and cause complications.

Air purifiers were also installed at the Taj Mahal. The iconic mausoleum has turned to yellow and green -- from white marble -- due to the over exposure to toxic haze.

6. Turning pollution to ink

Engineers of IIT developed a way to make the pollution useful: by converting it to ink and paint. It gave birth to the startup Chakr Innovations, which capitalized on the smoke.

At least 50 "pollution-absorbing" machines were scattered in different location. A report claimed that it could absorb at least 90 percent of dangerous pollutants.