Kolkata has topped the charts in pollution across the country this last week of November.

This month, the average daily reading in PM 2.5 Air Quality Index has been higher than 300.

With the onset of winter, problems will only rise as pollution particles in the air will make it harder to breathe easy.

Environmentalist SM Ghosh said, "Actually winter has not yet started properly. This is the last week of November but we have been facing severe problems say in commercial and residential zones. We noticed even on Sunday at 7 pm the reading was 406, this is severe. The duty of the government is to announce this thing to alert people from going out of their homes. The government is not giving any feed back to the people. Whatever we are getting is from the Central Protection Control Board (CPCB) website."

The city has two machines to record pollution levels. That means these two machines have been showing different levels. This is due to the locations - one is in Victoria Memorial and the other is on BT Road.

SM Ghosh explains, "Due to the pollution, people suffer from respiratory problems and asthmatic problems. The government should take precautions in this matter.

Ajay Mittal, co-Founder of Kolkata Clean Air, an initiative to spread awareness on pollution said, "I have been monitoring the pollution level for over a month now and every day I have noticed that the level has consistently been over 300. This level should be between 0 - 250. The prominent pollutant is always PM 2.5. Pollution has only been increasing. Around 99 per cent of vehicles use diesel in Kolkata. These particles enter our lungs. Sometimes they are so fine they go past the alveoli and get into the bloodstream causing permanent damage to our lungs. This is very dangerous especially among the elderly and kids. This is like a public health crisis."

Comparing the city's pollution to other metros, Delhi in particular, Mittal said, "I have noticed so far that their air quality has been on the news for the last couple of years, most prominent being Delhi. But I have seen the government acknowledge the problem. So the first step I think is that the government shouldn't be blamed. The consumption pattern among people is what results in this level of pollution and the government should take responsibility for this. They must first acknowledge the problem and then take certain steps in two phases. One is an emergency action plan. This is there in NCR. When pollution is really bad, people are advised from going outside. Kids suffer because they have to travel to school in the morning. People come to Victoria Memorial in the mornings to exercise. When they exercise they exhale and inhale even more deeply. So pollutants penetrate even deeper."

Syeda Kaniz Hasnain, a resident said, "In Kolkata, there is a lot of pollution. We are having a lot of problems like coughing, sneezing, allergies and body rashes. This especially problematic during the day when we are on our way to office."

Another resident, Joyeesha Sarbadhikary explained, "Due to increasing pollution we are facing a lot of problems like irritation in the eyes, asthma problems, coughing and sneezing. We already had the traffic problems and now with that, this is also a major problem in Kolkata."

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