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Chandigarh
05th December:- A three-day
residential training programme on the ‘Air Pollution and
Human Health: Case Studies’ commenced today. Dr. Ravindra Khaiwal,
Additional Professor of Environment Health, School of Public Health, Department
of Community Medicine, PGIMER and Dr. Suman Mor, Assistant Professor,
Department of Environment Studies, Panjab University are coordinating the
programme. Over 40 participants from
various pollution control board, including public health practitioners, medical
professionals, environmentalists and researchers representing over 15 states
are attending the training programme.
T.C. Nautiyal, IFS, Chief
Guest of the event and Member Sectary of Chandigarh Pollution Control (CPCC)
highlighted that there is need to generate the local evidence of air pollution
as health effects depends on the type of pollutants. He stressed that it is
important to build a collaboration of pollution control boards, health
institutions and university to better understand the health risk of air
pollution. Prof SK Mehta, highlighted that existing infrastructure of tri-city
institutions and universities should be explored to support human health risk
studies.
Dr. Ravindra Khaiwal, Organizing Secretary and
Associate Professor of Environment Health highlighted that workshop aims to
build capacity of the staff of Pollution Control Boards, researchers and scientists
to conduct air pollution exposure and health risk assessment studies in their
respective states as an aid to policy measure. He stressed that existing infrastructure of medical institutes, engineering institutes
and universities should be explored to build a network of air pollution
exposure and health risk studies.
Dr. Suman Mor, mentioned that
there is need to build capacity of regional institutions to support National
Clean Air Action Plan. She further stated that to build the capacity existing infrastructure of
tri-city institutions and universities under CRIKC can be explored to formulate
regional center of excellence on air pollution and health.
Prof. Surinder Jindal, ex-Head,
Department of Pulmonary Medicine, highlighted that air causes asthma and
chronic bronchitis leading to an enormous health care burden in India and which
can be prevented by controlling the associated risk factors.
Prof Arun Aggarwal, key speaker of the day highlighted
that various health effects of air pollutants starting from respiratory
discomfort to severe heart diseases. He also stressed that adverse impact of
air pollution can be minimized through traditional yoga, pranayama and daily
exercise. The
first day of the programme also included the invited lecture of Prof. Harshal
Salve from AIIMS-Delhi, Prof Vinayak Sinha from IISER- Mohali.
This environmental training programme will raise the knowledge about the
air pollutants, exposure pathways and health effects to better plan the air
pollution control strategies and their implementation to reduce the burden of
air pollution related deaths and diseases. The progamme is
being jointly organized by School of Public Health, Department of Community
Medicine, PGIMER in collaboration with Department of Environment Studies, Panjab
University (PU) and is sponsored by Central Pollution Control Board
(CPCB)-Delhi.
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