In this episode of Oneindia Special Series, host Aarushi Ranjan speaks with Ajit Kumar, founder of Khushigram, about the urgent air quality crisis in Delhi and its impact on livelihoods. With a focus on sustainable practices and community engagement, Ajit shares his insights on how innovative agriculture can help improve urban air quality. Join us as we explore policy recommendations, the future of sustainable living, and how individuals can contribute to combating air pollution in our cities.
#AirQuality #Delhi #SustainableDevelopment #DelhiPollution #DelhiAQI #EnvironmentalImpact #UrbanLiving #CleanAir #GreenInitiatives #SustainableAgriculture
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#AirQuality #Delhi #SustainableDevelopment #DelhiPollution #DelhiAQI #EnvironmentalImpact #UrbanLiving #CleanAir #GreenInitiatives #SustainableAgriculture
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NewsTranscript
00:00Nothing is being burnt. No Parali is being burnt. No water is being put into any pond or any lake or any river.
00:07The blame game happens between political parties.
00:10The Delhi government says that the UP government is polluting the river and so forth.
00:16The issue of Parali is an issue that has come up in the last 5, 10, 15 years.
00:20It was not there before because we had animals that used to have this as their feed and fodder.
00:25Hello and welcome to another episode of One India Special Series.
00:33I am your host Arushi Ranjan and today we have a truly inspiring guest with us, Mr. Ajit Kumar.
00:41As the founder of Khushikra, a social and green platform, he aims to create sustainable and
00:47satisfying livelihoods in villages and small cities by integrating innovative practices.
00:54With his wealth of experience and deep-rooted commitment to the sustainable development goals,
01:01today we will explore his vision on the severe AQI level of Delhi which is considered very poor
01:08right now. Mr. Ajit, thank you so much for joining us on One India. Thank you.
01:15Okay, so as somebody who is deeply involved in sustainable development,
01:21how do you personally view the current air quality situation in Delhi?
01:26And I would also like to know that what concerns you the most?
01:31See, last few days have been bad but the worst is yet to come. So, this is a fact we all know
01:37and understand. So, we have to be ready for the worst now. Grab 2 is already there in place.
01:44I think next stages will come soon. So, we have to be prepared for this. We should have been
01:50prepared for this better because last year also we spoke a lot. Same situation. So, we are quite
01:59late actually. We are running late like you know you miss the train and you are at some other
02:04station and train is at 3-4 stations ahead. So, how to reach that station? So, it's that kind of
02:09situation. So, it's like disaster management, flight should come, special plane should come
02:15and take you to the third station so that you catch the train. So, it's like that basically.
02:21And what concerns you the most about this situation in Delhi?
02:25Situation is that when you come out of your vehicles or like if you are in a car or something,
02:30it's still okay. Though somewhere or the other, the air also still comes into the car but still
02:36like it's not, it's manageable. But when you are on a two-wheeler, when you are walking,
02:42when you are cycling, which is the cycling or the walking is the most like most eco-friendly mode of
02:48transport or travel, then you are really choked. You can't breathe, you can't because last 3-4
02:54days, I tried to use the minimum footprint vehicles or the modes of transport, mostly
03:00metros and connecting through bikes or cycles and other things. But last 3-4 days, it was really
03:07like I had a very, very tough time. I was just thinking and then washing my face and trying to
03:14see how we can take out the pollution that has entered in my body. So, it's very, very tough and
03:20severe headache and a lot of other problems. And these are like just start because you are there
03:24on the road for just 20-15-20 minutes and then you enter some place. Then again, you are on the road.
03:29If someone is on the road for say hours, it's really very, very tough. Lot of diseases and then
03:36it depends on immunity. But immunity, how much immunity can anyone have or how much immunity
03:42can save you, where everywhere you have dissolved greenhouse gases around you.
03:49So, it's really very tough actually. Yes, it's very difficult to survive in this
03:55kind of polluted here. Sir, you work with very rural people, you go to rural places.
04:03So, I would like to know how does poor air quality in urban areas like Delhi affects
04:10the livelihoods of individuals, particularly in rural and semi-urban communities that you work
04:16with? See, every problem is interlinked. So, it basically depends like if someone is
04:25who are in say Delhi, that will also increase poverty in other places. So, it's interlinked.
04:37I mean to say that if someone has a paying capacity, someone is working in Delhi and
04:42someone doesn't work, that person falls sick. Then that affects his paying purchasing capacity.
04:49And if that person is purchasing from villages, maybe fruits, maybe vegetables,
04:54maybe other things, then it becomes very difficult in that case. So, they can't buy much.
05:00So, that way the livelihood of the rural people is affected. Similarly, the good things that rural
05:04people make, maybe handicrafts, maybe some pottery and other items, that also they don't
05:11buy or they will buy less. So, that definitely affects their livelihood. And so, it's like
05:17everything is interlinked, environment, health, livelihood, everything.
05:22Yes, definitely.
05:23Water quality, all this. So, that is the linkages we should understand. Actually,
05:29in our education system in India earlier, the kind of education system we had, and now the new
05:35education policy emphasizes that kind of education system where things that are interlinked are
05:42understood well, interdisciplinary things are understood well. Everything is linked. It's not
05:47like physics or physics is not related to chemistry, chemistry is not related to biology,
05:51and all these are not related to economics and history and other things. Everything is
05:56interrelated. So, we have to understand this. It has to be like a mix of basic understanding of
06:04everything has to be there with everyone. Then only we can live a good life and give
06:09the nature, the world around us, keep that in good condition. So, that is it.
06:15Yes, definitely. You're very right. Sir, given your focus on agriculture and natural farming
06:22and rural areas, I would like to know that what role do you think that sustainable
06:28agriculture practices can play in improving air quality in cities?
06:33Very good question. And in fact, that was the problem. That is the problem that
06:37many the central government and many state governments are dealing with. There was a
06:40meeting also, I think, two or three days back with the ministers, environmental ministers of
06:44the states, states near Delhi and CR, and the union minister, agriculture minister, Shivraj
06:50Chauhanji. And a lot of problems were discussed. The issue of Parali. The issue of Parali is an
06:57issue that has come up in the last 5, 10, 15 years. It was not there before because we had
07:02animals that used to have these as the feed and fodder. And then we used to plan the cycles of
07:07the crops. That was sustainable planning. It was not that everything has to be grown everywhere.
07:14We grew as per the native, we had the native species, native seeds, and we used to grow
07:21our food accordingly as per the environment. Not that we'll grow everything everywhere.
07:26And not we'll see that what is the government is giving MSP on certain things, so we'll grow
07:31that only. So, I was saying that millets, things like millets and things, superfood like sattu,
07:37which is like, you know, roasted channa, roasted black gram. Very famous in Bihar.
07:45Very famous in Bihar. And it's very healthy. And you know, there is a dish that Litti,
07:50Litti you must have heard of, which you can see at many places in Delhi and CR,
07:54that Litti is a very healthy food and it can last for 2-3 days. These were sustainable food
07:59systems. So, agriculture and food was interlinked with animals, livestock. So, livestock, agriculture,
08:06and food, processed food. So, healthy food that was processed, healthy food to eat,
08:11that lasted a long time and people were healthy. But then we started saying that, you know,
08:17sattu is for low grade, like for labor class, and millets is for labor class, and we are like,
08:23say, a higher class, so we should eat rice and wheat and all this. There is a lobby that is all
08:28behind this. And we had tried to create this because unless if people are healthy, then
08:32many lobbies, many people won't get their, earn their money from. So, that is the problem. So,
08:38again, people are coming back to millet, very good that people are coming back to millet,
08:42sattu and makhana, fox nut, and all these. So, this is very good now.
08:47I think the food is westernizing, I would say. People are nowadays eating chia seeds and all,
08:53but avoiding sattu and the food which India has originated. Anyways, coming back to the topic.
09:01So, we were talking about government plans and you mentioned that some meeting was held regarding
09:07all of these environmental issues, which is being faced in the capital of India. So, do you think
09:14any specific policies or initiatives you would like to recommend to government bodies
09:20to address the air quality crisis more effectively? Because we see that meetings are being held.
09:26Take the Jamuna issue, every year, like blame game happens between political parties.
09:33The Delhi government says that the UP government is polluting the river and so forth. So, do you
09:40have any specific ideas which you would like to give to the government so that the air quality
09:48doesn't deteriorate in Delhi? Yes, definitely. We should work in clusters. So, that is how India
09:55was and India worked. We had villages. Villages were self-sufficient. Similarly, we should look
10:00at every village or every couple of villages or some places in the city and combine them together
10:09and see at the source. So, water quality at the source, environment quality at the source,
10:14agriculture at the source, and see that nothing is being burnt. No Parali is being burnt,
10:20no water is being put into any pond or any lake or any river. No waste water, I mean to say,
10:27no polluted water. And whatever water we use, which is like, say, what we call waste water,
10:35municipal waste or whatever waste, we can recycle it and we can reuse it and it can be recycled
10:41without sending it to the rivers. Why send it to the river or ponds or lakes? Why not leave the
10:46lakes, rivers, ponds, aviral and nirmal, as we say? So, we need to do that and it can be done.
10:53It's not difficult to be done and there are like the grand committees at panchayat level,
10:57block level, they are like bodies. And this third layer of government, which we call the
11:01city government and the village government, they can do that. It can be done. So, we should do
11:07at that level. Instead of just being at the government of India level or the state government
11:11level, it won't be possible. Every time we'll talk and we can involve, it has to be a multi-stakeholder
11:16approach. So, NGOs, civil society, citizens of that place, panchayats, then district government,
11:22state government, central government and corporates. Everybody has to come together
11:27and together they can do. It's not a big issue. And in fact, corporates can earn money from there.
11:32Many new startups can come. Many young people can have their startups in the villages and around
11:36and they can earn money also. They can stay in and around their villages, take care of their
11:41parents or grandparents, take care of their motherland, and then they can earn money also
11:47and they can enjoy that life. Which we actually, when we go to village, we think we don't want to
11:53come to the city, come to Delhi back. But we have to because we have a lot of work here.
11:59Yes. Sir, the last question which I would like to ask you is, I want to know your view that
12:08how and what does a sustainable and healthy urban environment look like? If you have to give
12:14a view of that and what steps are necessary to achieve that vision which you are putting
12:20for cities like Delhi? We can have areas, like we have chosen three areas in Delhi NCR,
12:25Mayur Bihar phase one and Noida sector 62 and Indirapuram which is a cluster. And third cluster
12:31is Knowledge Park 2 and all we have, we are trying to work with partner schools or colleges. So,
12:36they are our first partners. So, we form a planning committee after a few meetings and
12:42then planning committee has stakeholders from all areas of specialization. So, maybe 100,
12:4850 or 200 members of the planning committee. Then they plan together and see how work can be done
12:53and maximum work we try to see that companies, corporates, public sector, private sector,
12:59startups do that work. So, once they do that work, you don't have to pay anyone,
13:02they are getting paid by doing that work from the agency or be it the apartment or be it the
13:10community or be it the government. So, they get paid from there officially, that is there.
13:14Whatever gaps are there that needs to be fulfilled through the CSR funds or the government funds or
13:20the philanthropy funds or the contributions from the people. So, that gap should be minimal,
13:26less. And if you work together in a good manner in 5-10 years, that gap can be say 1, 5%, 10%
13:33only. Initially, it will be bigger because that system is not built. So, we need to build that
13:38system. Multi-stakeholders coming together and trying to solve the problems of a population of
13:44say 10,000, 20,000, 50,000, which is not very tough. If you try to think that whole Delhi,
13:49if you try to take care of the whole Delhi solution, one team, one group, one ministry,
13:54one government, one party or one person can solve, it won't be possible. So, we need to
14:00look at that. That way we can look at stretches like Mayur Bihar phase 1, we have Sanjay Lake,
14:04which was a very beautiful lake earlier, we can revive that. That can help increase water levels
14:10also as well as reduce pollution. A place for tourism also for people to visit, meet, interact,
14:15cultural exchanges. When cultural exchanges are there, peace is there, people don't fight much.
14:20These days, you will see people fighting many places. So, peace and harmony is created. So,
14:24all the relevant sustainable development goals and targets can be fulfilled together.
14:29Relevant because 169 targets are not applicable everywhere. Every place,
14:34there might be 90, 100, 110 targets that will be applicable. So, the targets that are applicable,
14:40we need to work in that direction and it can be done. And it can be a beautiful place. I can
14:44imagine in our vision, we already have because we think so. When we see a film, we have that
14:50visual in mind, how beautiful Delhi can be and how beautiful faces, everybody is smiling.
14:57Delhi is already so beautiful. It is the national capital of India. It's just us, the people who
15:03are polluting the environment and making Delhi dirty. Otherwise, the place is as beautiful as
15:09you can imagine. That's true. And people can stay like a family, big family, like family
15:14brothers, sisters, uncle, aunts, grandaunts and all. So, one can enjoy life and everybody can
15:20be together without conflict, without fighting and without thinking this is mine and this is
15:25theirs. Everything is shared. In fact, everything is shared. We might be staying there for sometime,
15:3310 years, 20 years, 50 years, but we won't be there always. So, we need to understand this.
15:38And once we understand this, then things will be easy. Thank you, Mr. Rajiv for sharing your
15:43insights on the critical issue of air quality in Delhi and its broader implications for sustainable
15:49development. Your commitment to building sustainable livelihoods and fostering community
15:54engagement is inspiring and highlights the importance of collective action, which you were
16:00mentioning that we all need to come together collectively to make Delhi a better place to live
16:06Thank you to our viewers for joining us on this important conversation. Thank you so much.