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"One day your life will flash before your eyes,
make sure it's worth watching"
-Gerard Way
Anti-Pollution Drive was founded on 2nd October, 2014. It began as a conversation among a group of friends and like-minded people who felt deeply about the issue of pollution and its effect on public health.
While initially it was named ‘Action not Words’, in order to act upon every issue faced by the public, the drive was later named ‘Anti-Pollution Drive’ to specifically focus on improving the health of people affected by pollution. An organization that started off with one person working for a cause, Anti Pollution Drive, also known as APD Foundation or APDF, is now a registered member organization.
THE ISSUE
THE VISION
THE MISSION
INITIAL STRATEGIES
The World Health Organization defines air pollution as “the presence of materials in the air in such concentration which are harmful to man and his environment.” Being termed ‘The silentkiller’, Air Pollution is considered to be one of the major causes of death and many other life threatening diseases. It is said to affect vital organs of the human body and is ranked as the 5th largest killer in our India, contributing highest to the reason of asthma and other respiratory problems in children & senior citizens.
With every trip to Bangalore, I saw an alarming increase in the number of smoke emitting vehicles on the roads and the consequent rise in the smoke and temperature of the city. Having faced respiratory infections and other health issues during these trips myself, and repeatedly seeing the younger ones in my family facing several respiratory issues, I thought it was time to do something about this health hazard, that every citizen in the country were living with and refusing to acknowledge. Thus, APD started with the vision of providing a clean and healthier environment to the people - AAR .
The vision encouraged a group of friends to begin research on smoke emitting vehicles, air pollution and the laws and enforcement related to its mitigation. Fueled with a purpose and vision in place, APD started working towards its mission of mitigating air pollution and improvising the public, environmental and economic health of cities in India. Several successful online campaigns were launched by the group of friends for a year till Anti-Pollution Drive was officially registered as APD Foundation to begin taking on pollution and its sources in an organized setup
After thorough research and several interactions with the public and Government officials and representatives, the team identified the core loopholes in the system and decided four main areas that APD would have to focus on:-
- Tightening and Rigorous Enforcement of Existing Laws Provided under several Acts pertaining to Air Pollution provided under Law
- Ensuring Regular Involvement of Authorities who are Statutorily Required to Ensure that Pollution are reduced/maintained at a minimum
- Create Mass Awareness Amongst the Citizens Who were Living in this Hazardous Environment, Unaware of the Consequences it is Having on their or the Health of their Loved Ones
- Building and Producing Actionable Data and Scientific Understanding Regarding the Health Impact and Levels of Air Pollution.
THE ISSUE
The World Health Organization defines air pollution as “the presence of materials in the air in such concentration which are harmful to man and his environment.” Being termed ‘The silentkiller’, Air Pollution is considered to be one of the major causes of death and many other life threatening diseases. It is said to affect vital organs of the human body and is ranked as the 5th largest killer in our India, contributing highest to the reason of asthma and other respiratory problems in children & senior citizens.
THE VISION
With every trip to Bangalore, I saw an alarming increase in the number of smoke emitting vehicles on the roads and the consequent rise in the smoke and temperature of the city. Having faced respiratory infections and other health issues during these trips myself, and repeatedly seeing the younger ones in my family facing several respiratory issues, I thought it was time to do something about this health hazard, that every citizen in the country were living with and refusing to acknowledge. Thus, APD started with the vision of providing a clean and healthier environment to the people - AAR .
THE MISSION
The vision encouraged a group of friends to begin research on smoke emitting vehicles, air pollution and the laws and enforcement related to its mitigation. Fueled with a purpose and vision in place, APD started working towards its mission of mitigating air pollution and improvising the public, environmental and economic health of cities in India. Several successful online campaigns were launched by the group of friends for a year till Anti-Pollution Drive was officially registered as APD Foundation to begin taking on pollution and its sources in an organized setup
INITIAL STRATEGIES
After thorough research and several interactions with the public and Government officials and representatives, the team identified the core loopholes in the system and decided four main areas that APD would have to focus on:-Tightening and Rigorous Enforcement of Existing Laws Provided under several Acts pertaining to Air Pollution provided under Law.Ensuring Regular Involvement of Authorities who are Statutorily Required to Ensure that Pollution are reduced/maintained at a minimum.Create Mass Awareness Amongst the Citizens Who were Living in this Hazardous Environment, Unaware of the Consequences it is Having on their or the Health of their Loved Ones
