A survey in the 10 states with the most exposure to Covid-19 shows that Corona and air pollution are the biggest concerns this Diwali
This survey conducted on Facebook was in the top 10 states in cases of Covid-19. These ten states were Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Kerala, West Bengal, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi.
With a sample size of 2218 respondents ranging in age from twenty-five to sixty, the results of this survey show that air pollution, Covid-19 and economy are the most concerned these days. Those who were part of the survey included men and women alike.
In this survey conducted by Carbon Copy, about 43% of the respondents said that Covid-19 is the biggest concern this Diwali. Air pollution was found to be the second biggest concern with 23.2% votes. After that, with 19.5% of the votes, the economy became the number three concern, followed by Jobs with fourth with 7.1% votes, and farmers with fifth with 3.8% votes. This Diwali, 3.4% people were worried about relations with China.
Reacting to the survey results, Karthi Copy publisher Aarti Khosla says, “It is not surprising that the epidemic has received the most attention among all 10 states surveyed. However it is worth noting that the economy and environment An understanding of the harm done to both has been found to be equally worrisome. ”
Furthering her point, she says, “The survey clearly shows that respondents have called for greater attention to address air pollution and the economy as much as Covid-19. Fortunately, all three can be cured simultaneously. There is just a need to encourage and support industries that pollute less, add more jobs, and help conserve forests and the biodiversity they support.”
In these ten states, only respondents from West Bengal said that the government was not doing enough to deal with Covid-19.
Talking about air pollution now, apart from Uttar Pradesh, most of the respondents of the other nine states are not satisfied with the efforts of their governments to remove air pollution. The response from Uttar Pradesh indicates the uncertainty of the respondents.
Over 70% of the respondents from West Bengal, Kerala, Delhi and Karnataka chose air pollution as their top concern this Diwali and did not find the government’s response in dealing with air pollution satisfactory. In Karnataka this number is quite high, with 88% of the total respondents choosing air pollution as their top concern.
Most respondents in all 10 states surveyed are not satisfied with their government’s efforts to address problems related to the economy. About 75% to 88% of respondents in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu were not satisfied with their government’s response to the economy.
With concerns about the economy and environmental issues at the same level, there are clear indications that our outlook is changing. The survey also shows that the Indian public has a critical understanding between unstable forms of development and its link with air pollution and climate crisis.
Of the respondents who chose air pollution as their main concern, 91.5% also agreed that the continuous exploitation of the environment is leading to increasing air pollution, water stress (water stress) and climate change in India. Interestingly, only half of those who chose China as their main concern agreed.
The survey was conducted by Facebook’s Messenger app between 27 October 2020 and 7 November 2020. Delhi and other cities have just announced a ban on firecrackers. The response pattern from Bain did not change in the last few days of the survey, suggesting that respondents are unlikely to believe that Bain’s announcement would reduce air pollution.
Banning firecrackers may seem a responsible step, but in reality it is pointing to how lightly serious issues like pollution are being taken. Banning firecrackers will not solve the problem. Such hasty steps for a year-long problem will not help improve air quality. The fact is that burning of fossil fuels and burning of crop residues is the main cause of air pollution in India. We need to go to the source to reduce pollution. Fireworks simply make an already bad situation worse, but it is not the main source of the problem.
Clouds of the Covid-19 pandemic are still hovering around us and the response to improving air quality should be on a war footing.
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