Siliguri, 30th September: SwitchON Foundation organized an environmental group meeting in Siliguri, West Bengal to discuss the city’s issue of air pollution and come up with an action plan to tackle the crisis involving various stakeholders. The meeting was attended by leading and regional level NGOs, Govt. Officials, city local bodies, educators and volunteers.
SwitchON Foundation has launched the ‘Bengal Clean Air Network (Bengal CAN)’ siliguri chapter, which is a network of national and regional organizations, trusts, clubs and volunteer groups. Through this network, SwitchON aims to create a mechanism in siliguri which will be a coalition of empowered local power structures, influencers, and community leaders to solve air pollution.
Vinay Jaju, MD SwitchON Foundation said, “Siliguri is reeling under air pollution due to vehicular pollution, waste, road dust etc. It’s time to unite and bring together different stakeholders of the city and regional to come up with solutions to tackle the issue. Let’s ensure siliguri can show other cities, can be sustainable and climate ready .”
According to JETIR, since 1990 the number of Vehicles are growing rapidly in Siliguri . As of September 2023, around 6,19,694 vehicles are registered with Siliguri RTO with a registration rate ranging grossly between 38,000 to 40,000 vehicles per year since 2020. From 2004 to 2014 the growth rate of two wheelers was more than 76 % in India, which was highest in the world after defeating China and in case of Siliguri the growth of two wheelers is much higher than any other cities of North Bengal. The amount of diesel run commercial and personal four wheelers, Good Carriers three wheelers has grown almost 25% in this time. According to the Reports of WHO, Cities like Siliguri are much more vulnerable to several respiratory diseases including COPD, Cancer, Ischemic Heart Disease etc as compare to big metros because, of small congested size of the cities , heavy density of growing populations, rapid growth of vehicular traffic etc.
Commenting on the initiative, Shri. C. Sudhakar,IPS Commissioner of Police, Siliguri said, “SwitchON Foundation is doing a praise-worthy job by creating a city chapter where different stakeholders can come together to find innovative solutions and take concrete actions to improve air quality and protect public health. We are committed to supporting this effort and working with all stakeholders to create a cleaner, healthier, and more sustainable future for the citizens of Siliguri.”
Dr. Prabir Kundu, Prof. of Siliguri Mahila Mahavidyalaya, Geography Dept. said, “These city chapter meets are a vital platform for conversation on the specific issues that the city is facing. The City of Siliguri, like many other big cities in India, is suffering from enormous Air pollution due to excessive high growth of Air pollutants as a result of vehicular air pollution or fossil fuel burning from rapid growth of motorized transport. Unless different stakeholders take positive actions together, it’s difficult to tackle the issue of air pollution.”
The objective behind the Bengal CAN City Chapter Meet is to engage different stakeholders and work together in partnership mode towards a sustainable society. This meet aims to develop a real time communication channel for integrating various responses from different stakeholders for rapid Action Response during crisis hours- including information dissemination plans on social media about pollution levels, contact details of control rooms and enabling reporting.
Around 20 organizations came together for the city Chapter meet. Other dignitaries like – Shri. C. Sudhakar, CP, Siliguri Police Commissioner, Shri Animesh Bose, Environmentalist, Coordinator, HNAF, Tuhin Suvra Mondal, Environment Activist, Dr. Prabir Kundu, Prof. of Siliguri Mahila Mahavidyalaya, Geography Dept., Dr. Suprakash Roy, Educationist, – Dr. Nima Doma Lama, Prof. of Siliguri College, Geography Dept., – Dr. Tarun Das, Prof. of Geography Dept. Siliguri College, Sri. Jayanta Kar, President, Governing Body, Siliguri College were present in the meet. Leading NGOs like Himalayan nature and Adventure Foundation, Wildlife of North Bengal, Mahananda Bachao Samiti, Green Environmental Preservation Society etc. attended the meet. The organizations discussed and debated on the City’s air quality and other related issues like waste management and came up with an Action Plan.
Mr. Anujit Basu from Wildlife of North Bengal, Siliguri said, “As partners, we believe that by collaborating with SwitchON Foundation we can pool our resources and expertise, and make a real difference in improving the air quality and protecting public health.”
Media Dossier
Contact: Vinay Jaju | M: +91 9331178105 | Email: VJ@SwitchON.org.in
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