The high school which I attended,was near an industrial area. The lunch break was the most unbearable time when a black fume from a local rubber factory used to engulf the ground and the building. We were not allowed to play on the ground for more than 10 minutes because of this,especially girls with asthma and breathing problems. Many of our students suffered from one or the other type of skin ailments. Thankfully it didn't affect me much because I was a bookworm and spent most of my spare time in school library. But it affected me in some other way. For rest of my life I grew a disliking for strong smells,be it pleasant or stinking,but that's another story. The whole area and surroundings suffered because of those factories,I wondered how people around my school used to stay there,this area was highly polluted.
The water near the drainage of that rubber factory was always murky and stinking. We had to cover our nose while passing through that way. Now I wonder whether they had any waste management system or they directly used to throw those in drainage. The nearby perfume factory was another kind of nuisance as it caused eye and skin irritation whenever we used to pass from there. One day I complained about this to our maths sir. He replied," It's okay if you discuss here,but don't tell others. Have not you heard the election campaign of this year? it says,Agriculture is our base,Industries are our future. Now if you protest,people will consider you as a challenge against development.That's bad,believe me." May be he said it jovially,but my mom also advised me not to talk about this in public. People don't take things straight always,so why should I waste my energy? Already I tasted the effect of protesting against poaching by that time,so I was left with no option.
Recently mom came here in Bangalore to pay a visit. She asked me how frequently I need to change the upholstery in my house. She explained,in our native place pollution is so high that they need to do it twice in a month. I asked,whether those factories started affecting that far. Mom replied,"No,not like that. Anyway,most of those factories,including the rubber manufacturing one,have been locked out. "
I was stunned,why did people change their attitude so soon? What happened to that campaign? Well,mom explained,major part of the adjacent lands are grabbed by the promoters and high-rises and shopping complexes are being built. Near that,a factory can't survive,any way. So they took the compensation and shut off the production. Who didn't go straight way,had to go due to well fabricated "internal issues". Don't know how much this version of the story is right,but it happened any way.
I told mom,"Well,at least people can breath normally now,no pollution will affect them any more." Mom gave a sad smile. "Yes,if you think so. But I think it was better before". Why so? She explained, those high rises again are another kind of irritants. Most of them have no proper waste management system so garbage are strewn beside the road many times,which emit a horrible stench. Another polluting factor is the emission from newly bought vehicles which increased many folds now a days.There are no sufficient roads to drive them or place to park,so most of the time that cause horrible traffic jam. Most of the time people don't bother to shut the engine off during jam or halt. That's also causing much pollution. The water is also not sufficient for this many people,there is acute shortage sometimes. It affects everything when it comes about increasing population,isn't it?
I had to think. Which was better, the industrial pollution or the increasing population which caused pollution? Till now I don't have a clear answer. Increasing population and their reckless attitude towards nature has been a threat from decades.Money can't buy pollution free environment,nobody cares for that. If this goes on,not only us,our future generations also will be affected badly. Can't we be a little sensible about our vehicle emissions or waste management? We really need to think about it,otherwise in future,or should I say,will there be a "Future" at all???
