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Can you recall the recent viral story of a kid complaining his father took him to see mountains in Delhi, only to later realise it was made of garbage? Can you relate to an area where you are used to stench and heaps of garbage which add to the scenic beauty of your city? That is soil pollution for you.
However, that is one facet of an issue which now affects every aspect of our lives. Sometimes it's visible in the form of overflowing landfills, other times it knocks subtly with reduction in the quality of your fruits and greens.
New Zealand Soil society’s appropriate slogan, “ Don't treat soils like dirt” defines this problem in a nutshell. Soil pollution is not an individual issue because as a part of the ecosystem as a whole, it affects the water we drink, the marine food we consume,the land grown plants and animals which thrive on them. Ideally, once toxic chemicals are introduced in the soil, they find their way into the food chain, whether they get absorbed by plants or run down into the nearby stream.
Soil degradation and damage is an impending event which does not receive adequate attention only because its impacts are not relatively visible. However, that doesn’t reduce its significance. On the contrary, this area needs more research, updated information and awareness to ensure we can save the already scarce resource.
It takes nature decades to form one inch of nutrient rich topsoil and humans pollute the little of what is available. There are multiple ways to contribute to constricting the effects of such pollution.
Primarily, responsible farming methods need to be adopted on a large scale basis. It means lesser use of chemical fertilisers and insecticides, composting and bio manure usage, crop rotation techniques, usage of latest technologies and higher quality seeds, access to information on crop choices and profitability and the list goes on.
However, in a country like India where the economy is agrarian and farmers poor, how can these facilities and knowledge be made available at large? I think the answer to this question will solve our problem to a large extent.