After Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai, Nagpur has its own Giant Lungs. An interactive art installation in the form of giant-sized ‘breathing’ lungs will demonstrate the lethal impact of polluted air on human health in industry-heavy Nagpur.
Titled- ‘The Billboard that Breathes’ these ‘artificial’ lungs have been put up on the footpath outside the KRIMS Hospitals on Central Bazaar Road in Nagpur.
The installation was unveiled on 23 February 2020 in the presence of Hema Deshpande of MPCB, Corporator and Ex Mayor Pravin Datkey, Dr. Sameer Arbat, Pulmonologist, KRIMS Hospitals, RJ Naman, Radio Mirchi, Leena Buddhe, Founder of ‘Centre For Sustainable Development’, Bhagwan Kesbhat the Founder of Waatavaran Foundation and Shikha Kumar, Campaigns Manager at Jhatkaa.org.
This initiative is by Jhatkaa.org, a digital advocacy organisation, in collaboration with Waatavaran, an environmental organisation and Centre For Sustainable Development, KRIMS Hospitals and amplified by Radio Mirchi .
The lungs are fitted with HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filters. The same filters are used inside the operation theatres, anti-pollution masks and other places to trap dust. A pair of fans fixed at the back of the billboard suck in air to mimic the functioning of lungs while breathing.
Over the next few days and weeks, particulate matter from dust pollution and vehicular emissions will begin getting trapped in the HEPA filters. This will lead to the lungs changing colour- from chalk-white to brown to black. The billboard is also fitted with a digital air quality monitor that will record and display the real-time Air Quality Index (AQI).
The location near KRIMS hospital has not been chosen to simply create a larger awareness about the health impact of air pollution. People often believe that air pollution is more serious in industrial areas as compared to residential areas.
"People often confuse bad visibility with bad air. Air pollution is all around us as air has no boundaries. It’s high time Nagpurians take air pollution seriously. The AQI monitor on this board will show real time pollution levels in Ramdaspeth
area. Acceptable AQI level should be below 50.” said Dr Sameer Arbat Pulmonologist from KRIMS hospitals.
Bhagwan Kesbhat, Founder of Waatavaran an environmental NGO, said that it’s a matter of shame for every person living in Maharashtra that our state happens to be one of the most polluted State in the country today with the highest number of non-attainment cities. “We urge the government to take this critical issue impacting the health of every resident of Nagpur seriously.
The Maharashtra State government under the new leadership should lead from the front by going beyond the minimal national standards of 20-30 percent reduction and set higher standards of reductions for itself and achieve it,” he said.
“We had an amazing response to this installation when we put it up in Mumbai I January this year. Watching the lungs change colour and turn black, that too in just two weeks (in Mumbai), is an alarming reminder of how serious air pollution is, and the urgent need to tackle it. Industrial emissions are a huge contributor to toxic air in Nagpur, and through a public initiative like this we hope to drive action on both fronts – from individuals as well as from the government,” said Shikha Kumar, Campaigns Manager, Jhatkaa.org.
“All Nagpurians need to raise a very strong and collective voice against air pollution that threatens not only our health but is also severely impacting the health of our children. We will try and bring as many as people, especially children to see these lungs to ensure that the awareness on air pollution grows,” said Leena Buddhe, Founder of Centre For Sustainable Development. Sudhir Paliwal, Convener, Vidarbha Environment Action Group (VEAG) and
Nagpur Climate Crisis (NCC) sharing his opinion said, had these artificial lungs been installed at a busy roads like Central Avenue or any other area where there is high vehicular traffic or industrial activity, they would have changed colour in a very short span of time. “We hope that certain people with vested interest do not conclude that Nagpur is not a polluted city just in case the lungs installed at Ramdaspeth takes a longer time to go black,” he said.
Citizens can visit Central Bazaar Road, Ramdaspeth and witness the Giant Lungs change colour from white to black as they will be stationed in Nagpur for 1 month.
