Air Quality Index

Hinjawadi

Delhi

Wakad

air purifier

Pune

Magarpatta

Families like the Agrawals (L) suffered from sore throats, itchy eyes and breathlessness till they got an air purifier; (R) many pointed at illegal burning of stubble, garbage at Hinjawadi

When IT professional Sharmila Vaitla prepares a cup of tea early in the morning to enjoy on her balcony, she isn’t greeted by a gentle, fresh breeze — instead, thisresident chokes on thick, polluted air, with smog that leaves her eyes watering and skin stinging. “Evenings are no better,” she told Mirror, “Walks have become impossible. Children living around here constantly have their eyes watering and itching.”The air crisis inis no longer a distant calamity. Over the last three days, pollution levels around the upscale vicinity of Blue Ridge at Hinjawadi as well as parts ofhave escalated so drastically, that surviving here has become like a slice of life in the national capital.For instance, installing anin one’s home has become suddenly and equally popular, even as Air Quality Index (AQI) levels have skyrocketed. Ravindra Sinha, president of the Hinjawadi IT Residents’ Welfare Association (HIRWA), explained, “AQI defines the concentration of pollutants, like particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), nitrogen, sulphur and other toxic pollutants. On Thursday, AQI on sensors we have installed was a shocking 427. On Friday evening, it went to 302, while Delhi hit 361. Not much difference, and not getting any better.”Indicating a root of the problem similar to NCR, he added, “There has been a lot of stubble and garbage burning around here for the past few days, mainly during late evening hours and early morning. This has resulted in accumulation of smog. Clouds of smoke are emitted from many places.”Such is the severity of the situation that Member of Parliament (MP) Supriya Sule on Thursday took it up in the Rajya Sabha, raising concerns about the health of residents and urging the Union environment and health ministers to take measures to control the air pollution around the IT Park. Stressing on the 427 AQI on November 21, Sule insisted that there are no major factories or burning around, just a high volume of traffic, despite which these pollution levels have been hit. Recommending a merger of health and air Acts, the MP said urgent mitigation measures are needed.Hinjawadi and Wakad are located some 20 km from the heart of, and host a huge majority of IT residents. Many of these techies and their families are scrambling to purchase air purifiers, a la their northern counterparts. Said Anup Agrawal, “The problem is perennial. My family used to constantly wake up with sore throats, itchy eyes and noses, as also breathlessness. I commute tofor work, and can compare the air quality there to the situation at home. I actually installed an air purifier three months ago — the AQI that ratchets up to 100 even inside the house comes down to around 4 after using the purifier for a solid hour.”Over at Wakad, Sudhir Deshmukh installed an air purifier two weeks ago. “Air quality is really worsening. Many of my colleagues have also installed such machines in their homes,” he testified.Meanwhile, schools are being forced to function with closed windows for several hours a day. Blue Ridge resident Sunita Nath said her child, who has bronchial asthma, is suffering hugely. “An abundance of vehicles, construction work, road dust and stubble all worsen the scenario,” she pointed out.Several residents told Mirror that health conditions have been on a steady rise like congestion, wheezing and more, with children particularly susceptible to respiratory disorders and allergies.But according to Sinha, the local body seems to remain strangely unaware of what is badly affecting area inhabitants for days. “We are helpless as the gram panchayat is not acting and we have nowhere to reach out, and no one to hold responsible for the burning. We have even launched an online campaign and approached multiple authorities to raise the issue,” he shared.Affirming this, Akshay Jadhav, sarpanch of Hinjawadi gram panchayat, said, “No complaints have been received by us on social media or other formats. We normally receive photos, after which the action is initiated. Normally, notices are served and preventive measures are taken.”“There has to be no reason to wait until a complaint is received,” countered district collector Naval Kishore Ram to Mirror, “A review of the air quality and pollution situation will be done. The chief executive officer of Hinjawadi Zilla Parishad will be contacted to intervene and take appropriate action.”Similarly, Pune Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (PMRDA) commissioner Vikram Kumar assured, “We will reach out to the authorities concerned to ensure measures are taken at multiple levels and such air pollution levels are contained.”