INTRODUCTION

In general, cities in developing countries can well be compared to Iceland in

a sea of deprivation and poverty. Kolkata is not an exception! The former capital of
British India is experiencing “growing up” pains as its endeavours to reclaim its lost
glory. As the city grows physically to keep up with its economic growth it counter
some several environmental degradation.
The pollution level in Kolkata is increasing day by day. This is a threat to
Kolkata and the citizens of Kolkata and people should be aware of that. The major
pollution taking place in Kolkata is the air and water pollution. The river Ganga is
contaminated day by day.
Rapid and unplanned urbanization making this problem more acute in many
megacities in developing countries. Kolkata being one of the fastest growing
metropolis in India, is experiencing this problem lately. The influx of large
population from the rural areas putting immense pressure in the city’s
infrastructure and it is getting difficult to manage it properly. As a result, the level
of pollution in the city is growing at an alarming rate over the past several years.
To this lazy attitude of government and citizens, has added to more pollution
and deterioration of quality of air. There are plenty of old vehicles which emit
smoke and there is no pollution check done to these vehicles.
As the winter arrives, there is smog everywhere and especially at the time of
Diwali when firecrackers are burnt, people sit around fire to keep themselves
warm, burning of wood etc. cause the smog increase and the whole city is covered
with poor quality of air, resulting in many health hazards.
 To increase air emission, water pollution and land contamination are the
main objectives of environmental pollution. Environmental pollution aims at
changing climate and weather condition. It also increases productivity, creates
employment and initiates innovation. Environmental pollution also aims at
producing scientists with technical and analytical skills, environmental policy
makers and researchers. It creates the sense of stewardship for our environmental.
The aim of the study is to evaluate the impact on environment that has
occurred already with the following objectives:

 To assess the existing air quality.

 To assess the extent of pollution of water bodies due to developmental
activities.
 To assess the quality of soil pollution and soil degradation.
 To assess the extent of noise pollution.
 To assess the quantities and types of solid wastes generated, assess the
efficacy of present disposal method and to propose suitable method of
disposal.
 To assess the amount of sewerage generated and its quality.
 To assess the efficiency of existing sewage system and propose sewage
treatment facilities.
 AIR POLLUTION IN KIOLKATA
It is a less known fact that, Kolkata has surpassed Delhi in terms of pollution.
Kolkata is a metropolitan city and according to sources, it is being ranked as second
most polluted city in the country and its air quality index is declining faster than
that of Delhi.

Causes of Air pollution in Kolkata:

There are many factors that lead to air pollution in Kolkata, which is the
reason for many health issues and smog in the city.
Some of the causes are:
The main cause of pollution in Kolkata is transportation. There are many old
vehicles plying in the city which use petrol and diesel. There is no check on these
vehicles and they emit many harmful gases. According to sources over 95% of
population is caused due to diesel based vehicles and commercial vehicles. Along
with this, there are lot of public transport like autos, trams, open buses which are
in poor condition. Apart from this these high number of vehicles both personal and
commercial cause traffic and congestion, leading to more wastage of fuel and
commuting time.

With the increase in number of vehicles on roads, lack of infrastructural

facilities, industrialisation are some of the reasons that has lead to pollution in the
city.
 There are thermal power plants in and around the city which cause pollution
both in air as well as water. There are many small scale industries in the city area
which lead to pollution and making it difficult for people around them to breathe.
Use of plastic is one of the other issues in Kolkata, although government
made many attempts to ban the use of plastic. Kolkata has been slower in
implementing the same. May people use plastic bags daily and these plastic bags
are either burnt or thrown in water. Burning plastic not only gives a bad smell, but
also pollutes the air and emits harmful gasses.
Trash burning is carried on a regular basis. There are huge dump-yards where
huge quantities of trash is being burned regularly, causing pollution in the air.
With the raising population and urbanisation, construction of new buildings
are being done, therefore leading to construction dust like cement, wood trash etc.
To give space to new constructions, trees are being chopped off, which do not give
any fresh or new air.

Effects of air pollution in Kolkata:

Air pollution leads to many health hazards making it difficult to people
breathe and survive in a clean environment. According to experts and doctors,
Kolkata should also take measures same as in Delhi to deal with air pollution or it
will lead to serious health issues among the public. More deaths due to lung cancer
and heart attacks are the major concern in the present era. The most effected are
the school going and college going students, who fall prey for asthma. People who
are on roads for long periods such as dwellers, hawkers, drivers of public transport
are at more risk than anyone, as they inhale more of these harmful gasses. People
are at high risk of respiratory disorders and other disorders due to rising air
pollution. People also suffer from irritation in eyes, sneezing, cough, allergies and
body rashes.
Pollution Level in Kolkata:
The Air Quality Index (AQI), in Kolkata showed, 409 in Nov’2018 and 415 in
Dec’2018, which is considered as “Poor”. The city residents breathe 5 times of bad
air and around 71% of people suffer from respiratory diseases. Most of the people
suffering from respiratory diseases are non-smoking people. Many people are
under risk of cancer. The smoke is equal to smoking of 22 cigarettes on an average.
People who excercise in the mornings inhale deeper and this leads to more
penetration of bad air in their lungs.

Air Pollution in Kolkata Statistics:

Pollution levels rise rapidly in winter due to low speed of wind and damp
weather. Kolkata, as usual has a damp weather and the dust particles get trapped
easily. PM2.5 is not available during all the seasons but it increases at the start of
winter even the Air Quality index raises above 300/400 during the winter season.
The pollution and bad air quality is at peak during night time and early in the
morning.

Control Measures to Reduce Air Pollution:

While government is taking many steps to control the pollution and its
effects, these steps are to be taken urgently to reduce the pollution, as it is causes
serious health effects to citizens and natural life.
Here are the steps taken by the authorities to solve the situation:
Since the city’s design is compact, it helps to keep the trips short. Walk and
cycling would help reduce traffic and congestion, the smoke emitting from vehicles.
Strict parking policies and lesser roads would also force citizens from using
their own vehicles.
Monitoring the thermal power plants.
 WATER POLLUTION IN KOLKATA
Water pollution is also a problem for Kolkata. Specially in the river Ganga.
The river Ganga is getting contaminated day by day due to the discharge of
industrial pollutants and other type of wastes in the river. The Industries in and
around Kolkata use Ganga as a discharge for their liquid and solid wastes without
treating the wastes properly thus causing water pollution in the city. Again all the
sewage and domestic wastes is also discharged into the River Ganga. The river is
used as a source of discharging the waste products of the city.

Causes of Water pollution in Kolkata:

The single biggest reason for water pollution in India is urbanization at an
uncontrolled rate. The rate of urbanization has only gone up at a fast pace in the
last decade or so, but even then it has left an indelible mark on India’s aquatic
resources. This has led to several environmental issues in the long term like paucity
in water supply, generation and collection of wastewater to name a few.

The treatment and disposal of wastewater has also been a major issue in this
regard. The areas near rivers have seen plenty of towns and cities come up and this
has also contributed to the growing intensity of problems. Worst still, 80% of the
water that we use for our domestic purposes is passed out in the form of
wastewater. In most of the cases, this water is not treated properly and as such it
leads to tremendous pollution of surface-level freshwater.
 This polluted water also seeps through the surface and poisons groundwater.
It is estimated that cities with populations of more than one lakh people generate
around 16,662 million litres of wastewater in a day. Strangely enough, 70% of the
people in these cities have access to sewerage facilities. Cities and towns located
on the banks of Ganga generate around 33% of wastewater generated in the
country.

Effects of water pollution in Kolkata:

Water pollution can have some tremendously-adverse effect on the health
of any and every life form living in the vicinity of the polluted water body or using
water that has been polluted to some extent. At a certain level polluted water can
be detrimental to crops and reduce the fertility of soil thus harming the overall
agricultural sector and the city as well. When sea water is polluted it can also impact
oceanic life in a bad way. The most fundamental effect of water pollution is
however on the quality of the water, consuming which can lead to several ailments.
In fact as far as India is concerned polluted water is one of the major factors
behind the general low levels of health in Kolkata, especially in the rural areas.
Polluted water can lead to diseases such as cholera, tuberculosis, dysentery,
jaundice, diarrhoea, etc. In fact, around 80% stomach ailments in Kolkata happen
because of consuming polluted water.

Solution of water pollution in Kolkata:

The best way to solve these issues is to prevent them. The first major solution
in this context is conservation of soil. Soil erosion can contribute to water pollution.
So, if soil can be conserved we can prevent water pollution too. We can follow
measures such as planting more trees, managing erosion in a better way, and use
farming methods that are better for the soil. In the same vein it is also important
to follow the right methods in disposing toxic waste. For starters, we can use
products that have lesser amounts of volatile organic compounds in them. Even in
cases where toxic material like paints, cleaning supplies, and stain removers are
used, they need to be disposed off in the right way. It is also important to look into
oil leaks in one’s cars and machines.
It is said that leaked oil – even from cars and machines – is one of the
principal contributors to water pollution. Hence, it is important to look at cars and
machines, which run on oil, on a regular basis, to check them for any possible oil
leak. It is important after work – especially in factories and production units where
oil is used – to clean up the wasted oil and either dispose it properly or keep it for
later use. Following are some other ways in which this problem can be addressed
adequately:
 Cleaning up waterways and beaches
 Avoiding the usage of non-biodegradable material like plastic
 Being more involved in various measures pertaining to preventing water
pollution.
 CONCUSION
Environmental pollution is a major problem in different part of the world,
which requires the policy makers to employ some mitigation strategies.

We are aware with the different types of pollutants and their impact on our
environment. These pollutants affects humans, animals, plants, and atmosphere.
Their effects indeed many and wide-ranging. The excessive levels of pollutants
cause a lot of damage to human and animal health.

We are observing a regular increment in the temperature and express the

concern for global warming. But is that enough to stop the pollution? Are we
providing a fresh and clean atmosphere to our future generation? Answer is ‘NO’.
The problem of pollution is not the single instance, it is the group collaboration of
instances. One person cannot stop it but it can pass to another one and trying to
prevent at the best level. If we cannot stop it completely at least we can try to cut
pollution down to a size the environment can handle.

We can follow green chemistry principle to avoid the pollution at a certain

level. Our government implements “command and control” polices in which we try
to control environmental pollution with the help of regulating activities which
effect the environment. For example in command and control acts of 1970 and
1990, the government tried to control the amount of emission from automobiles.

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