New Delhi: From a wisp of smoke hanging inside Parliament to a denser form near its entrance, and to a thicker envelope of smog threatening citizens’ health, lawmakers may finally address health concerns that are, inadvertently or not, ignored.
A complaint over the wisp of smoke could may well be credited to take a larger space to address wider health concerns — in Parliament and outside.
Many Indian cities face a chronic air‑quality emergency driven by seasonal crop fires, vehicle and industrial emissions, construction dust and worsening meteorology.
Speaking in Parliament on Thursday, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Anurag Thakur called the attention of the Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to a Trinamool Congress Parliamentarian smoking e-cigarette.
Incidentally, its use in India is banned under law, prohibiting the production, sale, distribution, and advertising of e-cigarettes due to the nicotine content and health risks associated with the addiction.
Other members and journalists say that the said Trinamool MP had been ticked off by colleagues on earlier occasions but continued to be addicted to vaping.
Many of them were expecting an official condemnation, even a disciplinary procedure, they claim.
In the second incident, the allegedly-vaping MP’s elderly party-colleague Saugata Roy, a retired professor of Physics, was spotted smoking a regular cigarette near the Makar Dwar of Parliament.
In a video posted by a journalist on Facebook, Saugata Roy is seen standing with some media representatives, smoking, being confronted by Union Ministers Giriraj Singh and Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.
The BJP leaders raised concerns about public health and the dignity of the House, while Saugata Roy can be heard defending, saying he was smoking in the open.
The 78-year-old veteran, who has been a five-time member of Lok Sabha, was first elected to the sixth Lok Sabha (1977-80) as a Congress nominee.
He has been attracting controversy over smoking in Parliament premises, where his photograph with a cigarette was splashed across newspapers some years ago.
The Trinamool leadership is said to have taken cognisance of the current double-trouble, reportedly embarrassed at such conduct.
The action of the two lawmakers raises questions on their role in leading by example and effective discharge of duties as the people’s representative.
The silver lining in this cloud of smoking controversy was Congress member Manickam Tagore raising Delhi’s air pollution, asking the Union government to undertake a clean air emergency plan to deal with the menace.
The demand was reiterated by the Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi with the Treasury acquiescing to introduce any constructive debate in the House.
Pollution-related health burden includes rising respiratory, cardiovascular and developmental harms.
While multiple government programmes exist, experts say enforcement gaps and limited industrial focus have blunted results.
Air pollution is linked to asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), heart disease, stroke, low birth weight, impaired lung development in children and emerging evidence on reproductive harms.
Public‑health bodies have warned of a major cardiovascular burden attributable to ambient air pollution.
The visible consequences are evident from hospitals attending to such victims during severe episodes, school closures, and lost workdays.
While several longer‑term, often invisible damage to population health and productivity often remain undetected.
The Union government launched the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) in 2019 to target 130 non‑attainment cities with city action plans, monitoring expansion and sectoral interventions.
The programme coordinates Central and state schemes and leverages urban missions for funding.
Cities have used short‑term emergency tools, including alternating the plying of odd‑even number vehicles, bans on construction, and temporary industry curbs.
Meanwhile, states run anti‑burning drives and subsidised machinery for farmers.
Independent reporting and expert reviews show mixed results with some reductions in visible stubble fires and localised AQI improvements, but persistent high PM2.5 levels and evidence that farmers and polluters sometimes shift timing or location of emissions rather than eliminate them.
With Parliamentarians seeking a solution through dialogue, citizens’ can perhaps look forward to comparatively cleaner air, and lungs.
(IANS)
