Air in Abohar third most polluted in Punjab

Abohar, October 25

In the past 24 hours, the air quality has been poor in Abohar. It has been ranked third in the state, after Amritsar and Khemkaran, in the list of most polluted areas in the state.

According to the data released by a weather watchdog at 9 am today, the AQI-US level in Amritsar was the highest at 386 in Punjab, followed by Khemkaran (330) and Abohar (225).

Bursting of firecrackers is being said to be the main reason behind the increase in air pollution in the area. Experts said no cases of stubble-burning were registered in Abohar so far. Due to air pollution, a number of locals were complaining of eye ailments.

Residents said the district administration had issued licences for sale of firecrackers to only 25 traders, in a ground of PUDA Colony, but they were also being sold in residential colonies and markets. Though the permission for bursting firecrackers was given only for two hours from 8 pm to 10 pm last night, these norms were also flouted by a number of people.

The current PM2.5 concentration in Abohar is also 4.9 times above the WHO recommended limit.