Alarming level of pollution in Faridabad this Diwali

Bijendra Ahlawat

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Tribune News Service

Faridabad, October 31

The city remained in a blanket of smog for almost 12 hours on Sunday night and today morning because of bursting of crackers on Diwali, leading to pollution level reaching an alarming level.

Visibility improved after 8 am, but residents experienced one of the dirtiest air of the season. “It was choking last night, as fumes of firecrackers flew all around. This kept me awake till the bursting of crackers fell silent,” said AK Gaur, a social activist and resident of Sector 86.

The PM 2.5 (particulate matter in the air of the size of 2.5 micrograms) level at 11 am today was recorded at 824 micrograms per cubic metre, which is around 14 times the safe level of 60, he said quoting air pollution level recorded by the Real Time Air Quality Index installed in Sector 16-A here.

Dalip Sharma of NIT said air quality was so bad that it was hard to breathe around midnight. He claimed PM 2.5 level was at hazardous level of 464 at 7 am.

The pollution level peaks during Diwali as a hazardous mix of noxious gases and pollutants hang close to the surface on account of low temperature and poor wind movement, officials say.

The Particulate Matter (PM) is tiny particles in the air that cause low visibility and health hazards. The permissible level of PM 2.5 and PM 10 are 60 and 100, respectively. Anything beyond that could harm the respiratory system, it is claimed.

JB Sharma, Regional Officer, Haryana State Pollution Control Board, said PM 2.5 level in the city was 436 at 11 pm last night. He admitted it to be at a dangerous level. “The average level in the past 48 hours has been around 270,” he added.

15 cases of fire in Y’nagar district

Yamunanagar: In all, 15 cases of fire were reported in Yamunanagar district on Diwali. An official of the Fire Brigade Department said of 15, major had broken out at three places. He said four fire tenders were pressed into the service to control fire at a cloth house in Jagadhri at 9.15 pm and the tenders took two hours to do so.He said two fire tenders each were sent to a plywood material godown in industrial area and to a scrap dealer's shop in camp area here. The official said the fire also broke out in the heaps of paddy straw in Chhachhrauli town and Radauri village of the district. He said the fire broke out at most of the places due to fire crackers. Meanwhile, an official of the Trauma Centre said about 4-5 cases of minor burn injuries were reported.  tns