IFUNA joins hands with IMA doctors and Industry to organize a seminar on techno-medical solution to stubble burning and air pollution challenges in post-Covid era
The event witnesses launch of Petrimed, India’s first fully loaded air purification system with 99.999% filter efficiency to arrest particulate matter
New Delhi: Stubble burning remains a serious health hazard this winter too, as it causes air quality index rise to dangerous levels and severely impacts the health of people.
Stubble burning is not just confined to the states of Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi but is an alarming issue in all other Indian states too. It causes a rise in air quality index to alarming levels, and enhances the severity of respiratory ailments and directly affects the lungs.
In Punjab, till October end this year, 49 per cent more incidents were reported than this period last year due to stubble burning. Every year, about 5.7 million acres of rice paddy stubble are burned on the farms of North India, that forms smog that chokes the entire Delhi-NCR during winter, making it one of the most polluted cities in the world.
In view of the severe health hazard that it causes, doctors, industrialists and Bollywood came together to deliberate on the topic, ‘Stubble Burning And Air Pollution Challenges Of Post Covid Era: Tecno-Medical Solution’, in New Delhi recently.
The programme was jointly organized by Indian Federation of United Nations Associations (IFUNA), Indian Medical Association (IMA), East Delhi, which is the country’s biggest IMA branch of Indian Medical Association with 9000 doctors, and a Noida based multi-national, River Engineering, on 27th October 2021 at Hotel Leela, New Delhi.
Deepak Parvatiyar, Media Advisor and Programme Director of IFUNA and Chief Editor of Global Bihari lauded the medical fraternity for the selfless service it has rendered during the pandemic. “We at IFUNA acknowledge with gratefulness the contribution and sacrifice that you have made by putting others’ lives before your own,” he said. He also stressed the need for a wide ranging synergy between the medical fraternity and Industry to tackle pollution related ailments.
Mr. Parvatiyar mentioned that air pollution is a very important component of sustainable development goals (SDG) 2030 and the targets of particular relevance to ambient and household air pollution include:
- SDG target 3.9.1, which calls for a substantial reduction in deaths and illnesses from air pollution.
- SDG targets 7.1.2, which aims to ensure access to clean energy in homes.
- SDG target 11.6.2, which aims to reduce the environmental impact of cities by improving air quality.
He said that the medical fraternity as well as the industry has a huge role in attaining these sustainable development goals. He also mentioned that the adoption of resolution on the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment by the UN Human Rights Council on October 8, 2021, has been a breakthrough moment for environmental justice. This right has been rooted in the 1972 Stockholm Declaration, he said.
Dr. Gautam Singh, President IMA, East Delhi, pointed out in his detailed power point presentation on the health issues caused by air pollution and threw light on the link between air pollution and COVID-19 pandemic. He said in post-pandemic recovery, it was important to inhale pure air to minimize the risk of developing complications. He pointed out at studies that showed that pollution from stubble burning significantly reduced lung function of the affected people. Stressing the importance of breathing clean air, he said it was important to consider air purification systems as a remedy to air pollution.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. A.K. Agarwal, Chairman of River Engineering, and also Chairman of National Council on Rail Transport, ASSOCHAM, highlighted the role of air purification system and how it works. Being a technocrat and having more than three decades of experience in augmenting the growth in hi-tech companies and in spearheading successful global business alliances, he acknowledged the need for the medical fraternity and doctors working together to provide techo-medical solutions to health complications arising in post-Covid era.
The event also witnessed launch of Petrimed, India’s first fully loaded air purification system with 99.999% filter efficiency to arrest particulate matter, and with in-built UV-C disinfector to kill microbes, and in-built ionizer to nourish ambient air. The system is being manufactured by River Engineering with technical knowhow of Petrimed, Canada. So far, the best medical grade air purification system that was available India had filtration between 99.995% and 99.997%. The doctors present at the event acknowledged the product would meet the challenges of today’s virus-havocked environment. Dr. Agarwal said although his company’s charter was to engage itself in hi-tech areas like products for fighter jets, guns, tanks, mainline railway and metro railways, as a citizen he was concerned with persistent air pollution problem, and that is why he leveraged technology to ensure the people breathe the cleanest air.
The star attraction of the event was Bollywood starlet Pooja Bisht, known for her movies, Slip (2020), Mushkil (2019), and Prem Gajra Ani Chilli Chicken (2018). She conducted a lucky draw and the winners got the Petrimed air purification system.
Mr. Parvatiyar expressed hopes that her presence in the even and her popularity will take forward all the good work that IFUNA and IMA were were doing to her innumerous fans and create an awareness about air pollution and its harms.
– global bihari bureau
