Freshness in the air

Social Concern by Malay Kumar

During this nationwide lockdown, not only we all are feeling bad but also hoping for its end. Honestly speaking I am also hoping for the same. Now we all are constantly fighting against the Novel Coronavirus by staying at our house. As there is no specific medicine for Covid-19 hence maintain social distancing remain the only solution of it. In this critical period, we all are not only thinking about how to get rid of it but also continuously blaming China for Coronavirus. In one way that is correct because there is plenty of problems that have been created due to this lockdown. 

In India, we are going to complete the fourth phase of lockdown at the moment (already started on 18th May). Although the fourth lockdown is completely different from the previous three, as India did not apply for a complete lockdown. That is why this lockdown will keep several shops open, public and private transport will be open but it will be following the guidelines of the government. But, the tragedy is COVID-19 positive cases are still increasing day by day. As of now, we have an overall 1,75,000 positive cases here in India out of which 83,000 recovered and the death toll stands at 5,000. Since we don't have any vaccine therefore this number will surely increase in the future.

China, the United States (USA), the United Kingdom, Italy, Russia, Spain are some of the other countries which affected the most. On 24th March India announced for 21 days complete lockdown. It already extended thrice, 1st on 15 April followed by May 4 and now on May 18. The moment 1st lockdown began we realized that in the next few months, nothing good would happen. Am I correct? Most people answer yes. That's the right response, but 90%. We are all suffering from the virus issue in India at the moment, but we know this problem will be solved one day with the advent of medicine. But apart from this, our country has a permanent issue that is almost impossible to solve, and that is pollution. India has been plagued by this problem for many years.  

Since in the first three lockdowns both public and private transport was completely closed, air traffic down, all the factories closed, no shops were open and only a few are allowed now, therefore the pollution level is mostly under control. If we want to discuss the pollution, we should be surprised to hear that in 2019 India ranked 5th among the world's most polluted countries list with an avg of 58.8 Air Quality Index (AQI). In 2018 the AQI was even higher. Also, you will be very scared to know that not only Ghaziabad (AQI: 110.2) ranked no 1 but also twenty-one cities from India are on the list of the first thirty world's most polluted cities. 

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution kills nearly 6 million people globally each year. Also, air pollution alone kills almost 1.2 million people annually in India according to the World Economic Forum. A few weeks back USA Today claimed, the air in New Delhi is so toxic it can be seen from space. A street vendor just before the lockdown said: "sometimes I think I should pack my bags and leave Delhi for once and for all." For the last few years, Delhi is known as the world's most polluted country capital. 

But even if it is temporary for lockdown, this problem has been solved. Mumbai and Delhi have seen their pollution rates drop dramatically by 40-50% due to lockdown. India Today Data Intelligence Unit (DIU) researched AQI and noticed that no city in the country had poor air quality between the lockdown timeframe. Now you can take a deep breath as it is as fresh as ever. 

Current AQI for some major cities in India -  Guwahati (30), Mumbai (40), Bangalore (54), Kolkata (63), Kerala (63), Chandigarh (64), Hyderabad (66), Chennai (70), Pune (73), Rajasthan (81), Delhi (81), Ahmedabad (113)

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How online shopping kill local stores?

Social Concern by Malay Kumar

In today's world, we are upgrading ourselves every single day. From local shops to shopping malls, then shopping malls to the branded showroom and in now these days we don't have enough time to go to the market and purchase. Because we all are too busy to manage time for us. Thus, in these present times, we are doing what exactly others are doing.

Now the question is how online shopping business-killing local small businesses. The answer is yes. This present-day around 71% of internet users are preferring online shopping in our country and no doubt that this number will increase in the future. Surprisingly, men have more online shoppers than girls in India. Because people are concentrating online shopping, not because of time but the price also. In today's world, people want more good products at less price. For all of us, time and price both are vital and if we get both at the same place then it is an obvious thing that we will purchase our products from an online shopping site not from a local shop. Now in these days, the online shopping rate is increasing tremendously. I am also a part of it, as I like to save time as well as price also.

As online shopping has become very easy these days, that's why most people prefer it over retail shops. Let's discuss what people think before they make an order through online sites. 

a) Firstly, everyone thinks the price first, as it is crucial for all. Normally people get a huge discount on almost every product. Also, sometimes they receive additional cashback as per the offer.

b) Secondly, people think about time. To go to the market and shop takes so much time. As proper time management is a common challenge in our life, so we all think about how it can be saved. If we purchase through an online shopping site we can save our time easily.

c) To make our shopping easy and hassle-free those sites are also upgrading day by day. We get so many options regarding payment during the order as if we want to pay through cash or card both options are available there. Plus E-commerce apps make things easy for us.

Also, these days people get the facility of monthly installment on selected products. But, these options are not available in our retail shops. Also, those e-commerce apps are giving good customer service including quick return-refund policy, replacement policy, etc. Besides, in online shopping people can see a thousand of products before they decide which products they should choose before making an order. These options are not available in offline stores.

But, that does not mean that we don't need local stores anymore. We have good value for both. But, in this modern age as people love to upgrade themselves, therefore, they are focusing online shopping more than the shops, it's kind of a 60 - 40. Please mention in the comment section what you choose between these two?