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India Exposed!

  • 14/04/2002
  • WHO

A study shows that 7.5-10 per cent of males in Delhi suffer from various respiratory diseases. Another says that 10 per cent suffer from breathlessness and their lung function is way below the expected levels. One study from Bangalore records the shooting up of asthma in tune with vehicular population and industrial growth. Researchers in Kolkata narrate how the lungs of growing children are showing grave signs of degeneration. In one small municipality in Chennai, the health costs for minor sickness and hospitalisation increased by over 6-7 times in just about seven years.

Do these studies ring a bell in the government's ears? One way is to observe how the the Union government reacts to these emerging evidences. Before that it would be useful to find out how governments in other countries react in similar situations. The results of the Harvard Six Cities study was published in 1993. The first set of results of the American Cancer Society (ACS) study came out in 1995. In 1997, the US Environment Protection Agency (USEPA) rushed in to set limits at 15

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