MP Vandana Chavan intervenes and writes to Pune Municipal Commissioner to look into providing proper amenities across all crematoria across the city

The Pune Air Action Hub, which includes several civil society organisations and individuals who care about the air quality in the city surveyed 40 crematoria out of the 80 within the PMC limits Pune city. The hub members surveyed the crematoria on several criteria, including how many were using wood, gas or electricity. They looked at the surroundings of the crematoria, whether there was greenery and in general good maintenance, availability of water and clean toilet facilities for men and women,  space and availability of priests to carry out last rites, how the death passes were obtained, whether there were any phone numbers for the citizens to get any information, etc. 

Air pollution causes irreversible damage to our bodies, and the Lungs Billboard is a very effective tool to drive the issue home among lay citizens as well as decision makers. The installation depicts human lungs retrofitted with HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filters and two fans that mimic breathing and has been conceptualized to demonstrate the impact of air pollution. 

At the beginning of the installation the color of the lungs is white (symbolizing healthy lungs) which then over a few days starts to change color to gray and then eventually black. 

Parisar conducted a air quality perception survey, with a focus on the four vulnerable groups, namely - wastepickers, traffic police, hawkers and rickshaw drivers in the city. This survey evolves from a similar one done by Parisar in 2018, the major difference being the focus on the different stakeholder groups this time. The driving force behind designing the survey differently this time  was the fact that air pollution affects everyone, but its impacts vary with exposure. We wanted to understand how these four vulnerable groups understand and perceive air qualityFor cities to be liveable, a number of civic issues have to be addressed and planned for. While transportation, water supply, solid waste management have been the more visible, urgent matters for a long time, air quality is fast becoming a civic issue which demands and deserves urgent attention owing to the fact that it has now become a public health emergency.

Pune based NGO Parisar which works on sustainable transportation has written to the PMC with recommendations to relook at the transportation policy of Pune. The letter states that while the city continues to take on road infrastructure projects irrationally, the problems that manifest from lack of a holistic vision are taking a turn for the worse.