Ggn authorities gear up for post Diwali pollution woes

GURUGRAM: The district authorities in Gurugram are expected to face a tough time, as residents of the Millennium City are not expected to give up their firecrackers.

Even as a plea was made by District Commissioner Vinay Pratap Singh, asking residents to refrain from bursting crackers, teams have been formed to prevent hazardous increase in pollution which may emanate post Diwali.

"In times of crisis, we are expected to bring in the graded action system, where major steps are going to be taken to tackle the problem.

"Meanwhile, we are taking certain measures that can prevent the deterioration of air quality. I will urge the residents to minimise the use of crackers, as it can go a long way in not worsening the air quality," said Singh.

Pollution caused due to burning of crop remnants, high vehicular traffic and dust particles has already resulted in Gurugram topping the list of cities with poor air quality in the country.

Despite Sunday being a holiday, no improvement was seen in the air quality in the city.

PM10 particulate matter was found to be in the 250-280 range, way more than the safety limits of 100.

The more harmful PM2.5, meanwhile, hovered between 120 and 150, significantly higher than the prescribed safety limit of 60.

Rising air pollution in Gurugram is showing its adverse effects, through increase in the number of asthma patients in the city.

In the last three years, the number of asthma patients has increased three fold.

As per recent data released by the city health department, more than 50,000 old and new patients were admitted in the Civil Hospital for the treatment of asthma last year.

In comparison to the latest figures on asthma, there were over 20,000 old and new asthma patients who underwent treatment for respiratory ailments.