Watch it, Indian city-zen! Our fresh air is long gone now. We're inhaling noxious fumes and gases. Recent health studies have declared lung cancer as one of the major killers. Asthma is another one on the rampage.

There's more toxin in the air than oxygen. The Indian automobiles seem to be turning cities into gas chambers.

And why is this happening? Let's study the cause - so we can conceive the cure.

• The number of vehicles in India is growing at over 18% year after year. Indian cities are just not big enough to accommodate them all. It results in traffic jams every where. If motors were shut off in major traffic jams, it would cut down pollution.

• Badly maintained vehicles cause more emissions - more pollution because they use more fuel. Vehicles should be maintained well, inspected regularly.

• Fuel adulteration is common through out the country. Since this spurious fuel is sold at a cheaper rate, it is used extensively. Adulterated fuel is terribly harmful to the environment. It must be done away with once and for all.

• The simple bicycle is very environment friendly. Yet, they have been literally pushed off the roads. There is no lane exclusively for the cyclists. Some kind of consideration is over due.

• The government seems unable to predict the immense growth of the traffic. Inadequate studies of the situation have lead to poor planning and even poorer management of the traffic. The emphasis should be on traffic flowing smoothly without any snarl-ups. Except at traffic lights, vehicles should be banned from turning into the flow of traffic - in order to facilitate smooth movement.

• More emphasis should be placed on public transport. The better the public transport, the lesser the private vehicles, the less the pollution, traffic jams and noise. Public transport should be the made the main mode of commuting to one and all.

• Similarly all schools, colleges should necessarily have buses operating at a no profit - no loss basis. There is no instant solution for air pollution. Hard laws and a sustained effort by the authorities and the public together can bring down the pollutants significantly year after year.

The question is - when are we going to get down to it?

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