Air quality in Faridabad even worse than Gurugram

Gurugram: For long, there has been a competition of one upmanship between the two South Haryana metropolisis Gurugram and Faridabad. While these cities are competing for being the economic leader of the state, a hefty price of this progress is being borne by its citizens in terms of inhaling poisonous air. While the focus has been on Gurugram, Faridabad has surpassed not only its counterpart but also Delhi in having the worse air quality.

Amid host of factors, a major reason cited is the propping of small level industries and ancillary units that use poor quality of diesel and furnace oil leading to bad air quality. Even as high density vehicular traffic and dust generated from the construction activities are believed to be usual culprits, experts have cited that a large number of illegal, hazardous industrial units around Faridabad is leading to the deterioration of the air quality in the area.

In mentioning that the industrial units around Faridabad area have no pollution control device to regulate the smoke coming from the chimneys. Naresh Bhadana, a city resident, said: "There are various unorganised industrial units operating around Faridabad. These units are mostly involved in plastic moulding and metal works. Even as coal based chimneys are not allowed within because of pollution they cause, most of these units use coal chimneys for extracting metals like iron, aluminium and nickel. These units have no pollution control device to regulate the smoke coming out of chimneys, hence toxic smoke is released into the atmosphere without any treatment."

Bhadana further added: "These units also do not have effective policy of discharging their waste. The waste from the units is either openly burnt or mixed with the Municipal waste which ends up in landfills."

When asked about factors responsible for hazardous air quality levels in the city, a senior official from Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) said, "The HSPCB is thinking of carrying out a study in various areas including Faridabad to understand what factors are responsible for the poor air quality levels in the specific region."