'Implement lockdown once a year to reduce pollution'

The COVID-19 lockdown is an eye-opener on several counts. It has taught us how to reduce pollution, traffic congestion and eco degradation. So, should these lessons that we learnt from the lockdown be internalised to make Bengaluru a better city?

DH takes a closer look, and asks a cross-section of Bengalureans for their views. Shony Syriac, a Digital Marketing consultant says, “Bengaluru and other metropolitan cities have some takeaways from this lockdown. We learnt, for instance, that pollution is human-made and the trigger for pollution is in our hands.”

Shony is convinced that “We, the citizens could do our part and the authorities could do their share of actions to make Bengaluru a better city to live." A lockdown similar to the current one could be imposed once in a month, at least in the city, he adds.

Yes, the lockdown may look bad for the economy. “But it will be a gain for the environment. So a complete lockdown can be imposed once in a month. Now we realise that we are capable of working from home, so a day in a month won't hurt.”

If we ignore nature, we would be ignored by nature as well. “Let us all finally put some effort, let's plant more trees. Let's stop dumping waste in public, let's focus on effective waste management," he says.

Sherlin Bijoy, a student residing at Koramangala also has a similar opinion of imposing lockdown at least once in a year to save the earth. This will help the earth to heal from the damage caused by humankind.

“Most cities around the world have recorded the positive impacts of the lockdown on our environment. The earth is getting a detox from all the pollution. There is a visible restoration of ecosystems and wildlife,” she notes.

As sensible humans, she feels, “it's our responsibility to give back to nature a minimum time of 14 to 21 days for it to heal from all the damages that have been caused due to our actions. Local leaders and government could decide a particular time of the year, to declare a peaceful state lockdown.”

Aswin Ravikumar, a buyer assistant has this to say: “It is considered that pollution and eco degradation happens as part of development. Traffic congestion was an inevitable part of our life, yet a virus made us rethink the whole concept."

Depending on public transport, he says, is one of the best ways to overcome traffic congestion in future. “As we saw during the lockdown, the companies can send one vehicle to fetch the employees from a certain area,” Ravikumar suggests.

Besides, “our food habits will definitely contribute to the carbon emission. But the lockdown taught us to eat home-cooked food, which reduced our dependency on home delivery by the online food apps. Now we have a better diet plan to choose healthy food habits instead of having junk food,” he adds.

Subin Baby, a hardcore Bengalurean gives the discussion a nostalgic twist. He says, “The lockdown helped us rejoice the old beauty of Bengaluru during the spring. I felt the climate was cool during this summer compared to the previous years. The lockdown helped us understand how relevant it is to conserve nature as it is.”

The Covid-19 lockdown has an impact on the structure of Indian society as well. “It helped to bring out the relevance of a healthy environment and personal hygiene into everyone's daily practice. It brought the focus on population planning and crowd control in public places.”

He hopes that the post-COVID-19 world would have orderly public health and transport mechanisms. The government, he says, should follow the changes made during the lockdown even after the restrictions are fully lifted.