To pollute, literally, means to defile or make dirty. The addition of undesirable or unclean elements to the environment causes an imbalance and leads to pollution.

This imbalance has not only led to deterioration in the quality of our lives but has also threatened the very survival of all life. If this imbalance grows beyond a certain limit, it may prove fatal. The ever and rapidly increasing pollution is a matter of global concern, because it is not confined to a particular country, region or land. It is a threat to the whole world and must be fought united.

The problem of pollution is all the more acute in our overcrowded towns and cities. The ever-growing consumerism has further worsened the problem. The biosphere and ecosystem of cities and towns is fast losing its self-sustaining power. The rapid industrialisation of the cities has made them almost unfit for living. They are full of smoke, noxious fumes, dirt, dust, rubbish, corrosive gases, foul smell and deafening noise. The burning of various fuels in the factories and mills releases of a great amount of sculpture-dioxide in the air cause serious pollution. For example, in Delhi, a large part of the population suffers from respiratory and related disorders. In other metropolitan cities like Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai, the situation is no better. The thousands of vehicles spewing smoke and producing unbearable noise in Delhi have aggravated the situation manifold. Delhi is symptomatic of the growing urban pollution and chaos in the country. The same fate awaits other cities of the country.

Since most of our cities are on the banks of the rivers or the coast, our rivers and seas too have turned murky and polluted and fishes and other creatures living in them are found rotting on the shores. The atmosphere in the cities is saturated with such pollutants as carbon monoxide, oxides of sculpture and