Vineeta Singh, the CEO of SUGAR Cosmetics and a prominent judge on Shark Tank India, issued a stark warning on Thursday about the deteriorating air quality in Mumbai. She called for stringent measures to combat the city's escalating air pollution crisis, linking it directly to severe health risks including cancer.
ICMR Study Reveals Alarming Cancer Statistics
In a detailed Instagram post described as a 'morning post run rant', Singh cited a concerning study by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). She highlighted that one in nine people in India are likely to develop cancer in their lifetime. The study identified lung and breast cancers as the most prevalent among males and females, respectively.
Furthermore, the data revealed that lymphoid leukaemia is the leading childhood cancer, affecting 29.2% of boys and 24.2% of girls in the 0-14 age group. The situation is projected to worsen, with an estimated 12.8 per cent increase in cancer cases by 2025 compared to 2020.
Mumbai's Air Quality Crisis: A Call to Action
Singh expressed her deep concern after observing that Mumbai's Air Quality Index (AQI) had crossed 160 on Thursday morning. She described seeing vulnerable groups, including school children waiting at bus stops and elderly citizens walking, being exposed to the polluted air.
'My own son's gone for a school picnic, there were people working out – when you work out you are actually doubling your breaths per minute and your exposure is much higher,' she stated in an accompanying video, underscoring the immediate public health threat.
She questioned the authorities' inaction, asking if measures would only be implemented after Mumbai's AQI crosses the 200 mark and falls into the 'poor' category. Her urgent suggestions included:
- Halting construction activities for a few months.
- Implementing strict dust and pollution control measures at construction sites, similar to protocols in China and Korea.
- Exploring cloud seeding as a potential solution, leveraging Mumbai's high humidity levels.
Current Mumbai AQI Status
While Mumbai's AQI showed a slight improvement on Thursday, moving into the 'moderate' category after being 'poor' the previous day, the situation remains critical. Data from the Central Pollution Control Board's (CPCB) Sameer app showed the city's AQI at 172 at 2 PM.
Alarmingly, six monitoring stations still recorded 'poor' air quality, with Mulund West being the worst affected at 255. According to CPCB standards, an AQI between 101-200 is 'moderate', while 201-300 is classified as 'poor'.
Singh's powerful message serves as a crucial reminder of the direct link between air pollution and public health, urging both citizens and policymakers to take immediate, decisive action to safeguard Mumbai's future.
