Workshop on “Gaining strength to Combat Air Pollution: Harnessing Media Support’ and release of Nashik emission inventory report

To enable journalists to understand, analyze and report on air pollution from science, policy, and public health perspectives, a workshop "Gaining Strength to Combat Air Pollution: Harnessing Media Support." was organized by TERI in collaboration with National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MSPCB) and Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC), under the Clean Air Project in India, supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, on 18th January 2023 at Nashik. This was followed by the release of emission inventory report of Nashik, a media interactive session on ‘covering air pollution’ by Mr R Suresh from TERI and Mr Moqtik Bawase from Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) and a panel discussion on challenges faced by the media. Dr. Chandrakant Pulkundwar, Commissioner and Administrator, Nashik Municipal Corporation delivered special address and graced the occasion. In his speech he stressed the importance of reducing air pollution in Nashik and informed the media that a charging station for electric vehicles, an electric crematorium in Amrutdham, and a disposal project for waste construction materials in Pathardi Shivar would be implemented through Municipal Corporation for combating air pollution problems in the city. Editors form all major newspapers attended the event.

All the editors congratulated TERI for creating this platform and told that they looked forward to having more such interactive workshops in future. They were very forthcoming in their ideas and showed keen interest in doing more stories on air pollution and environment related issues.

Following this, a Street Play- Only One Earth and a Cycling Rally- Cycling for Clean Air were also organised over the weekend.