Sir, Although leaf-burning is banned in most Municipalities including our royal city of Mysuru, I have come across in almost all the localities where the MCC pourakarmikas who sweep and clean roads are in constant habit of burning the heaped up dry leaves and some garbage collected along with it. This leads to leads to air pollution, health problems and fire hazards. Leaf smoke may also contain hazardous chemicals such as carbon monoxide, which can bind with hemoglobin in the bloodstream and reduce the amount of oxygen in the blood and lungs. Then the vicious cycle begins — we inhale this polluted air, then develop respiratory problems and land in hospitals and cough up a lot of money along with infected sputum / blood. We MUST control things which are in our hands, like preventing burning of dry leaves by the roadside. The authorities must realise that this polluted air is omnipresent and they themselves along with their kith and kin also breathe it. I request the authorities to take stringent action against those burning the dry leaves and join hands in making our city the first Indian city which doesn’t burn its waste.
- Dr. Nitin V. Muralidhar, SS Nagar, 18.3.2018
