By A Staff Reporter
Kathmandu, Jan. 15: Nepali diaspora are worried about air pollution in Kathmandu. Last week on Monday and Tuesday, the Air Quality Index in Kathmandu hit 500 mark, making it the most polluted city worldwide.
The bad news worried the diaspora worldwide and an organisation based in Germany called Nepali Samaj Germany reacted promptly to host a discussion programme on the topic.
A 90-minute online programme was held by the Samaj on Saturday. Environmentalist Bhusan Tuladhar from Kathmandu, Dr. Maheshwar Rupakheti, environmental scientist from Germany, Navin Singh Khadka, a senior environmental journalist from BBC World Service, and Shilshila Acharya, activist and CEO of Himalayan Climate Initiatives from Kathmandu, were among the panelists.
All experts agreed that more use of electricity will minimise the problem of air pollution not only in Kathmandu but all over Nepal. Use of electric vehicles would drastically improve air quality in Kathmandu, they said.
According to them, burning of garbage should be banned. They further argued that only an integrated solution and action plan would help the people to breathe in clean air.
“Knowledge transfer is the main instrument to make people aware of the problem and solution, which is the reason why we invited scientists, activists and journalists to one common platform,” said Shiva Adhikari, chair of the Nepali Samaj.