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CHANDIGARH: In 2018 World Air Quality Report, region and PM 2.5 ranking, six cities of Punjab namely Mandi Gobindgarh, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Patiala and Khanna, and five cities of Haryana namely, Gurugram, Faridabad, Jind, Rohtak and Panchkula too have featured in the list of the most polluted cities of the world. Among Punjab cities , Mandi Gobindgarh ranks at the top at 26th position followed by Amritsar at 57, Jalandhar at 82 and Ludhiana at 95 position. In Haryana, Gurugram at number one position, Faridabad at 4, Jind at 20 and Rohtak at 25th position.

The latest data has been compiled in the IQAir AirVisual 2018 World Air Quality Report and prepared in collaboration with Greenpeace Southeast Asia which reveals the state of particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution in the cities world over.

Pradeep Gupta, chief engineer of Mandi Gobindgarh Pollution Control Board told TOI, “There is no denying the fact that the bad roads are responsible for aggravating the pollution, adding to the dust and emission from vehicles in Mandi Gobindgarh. Besides that industries too are playing vital roles, especially induction furnace factories and rolling mills. We have issued directives to the induction furnace factories to install modified air pollution control equipment in their units. The rolling mills too have been asked to start switching over to cleaner and more efficient technology like PNG/CNG instead of coal burning. But the PNG/CNG pipelines are yet to be laid down in the city.”

RK Chauhan , joint director of Haryana Environment department finds mention of small cities of Haryana in the list quite surprising. “Inclusion of Gurugram and Faridabad was understandable for being situated in the NCR and sharing the pollution with Delhi. But it is surprising that a clean and green city like Panchkula too have found space in the list of most polluted cities of the world. Even Jind and Rohtak do not have major industries but they too are in the list.”

He said that the pollution and environment departments are on their toes now and would gauge the the reasons of cause of pollution in these cities. For this , he said that air ambient quality stations will be set up in 22 major cities of the state which will give report about increase or decrease in pollution level and the specific timing during which they fluctuate. At present there are only 4 such stations in the entire state. This enhanced technological intervention will help them in assess the situation and find out the solutions in future.

Dr Ravindra Khaiwal, additional professor of environment health in School of Public Health Department in PGIMER who conducted several studies on air quality pollution in Haryana and Punjab said, “Crop residue is seasonal phenomena which occur in October and November when meteorological conditions also play role in building pollutants during this period in Indo-gangetic plains which include regions of Haryana , Punjab and UP. Air quality start deteriorating from October onwards in these regions.”

With regard to deterioration of air quality in small cities of Haryana and Punjab , he said that local sources like industrial activities, vehicular movements in congested areas, exhaust and non-exhaust emission and construction activities are responsible in causing pollution level of PM 2.5 . In some cases, use of solid biomass fuel for cooking too also add to the grim situation. He said that even rain lashes can not help in getting rid of the pollution caused by localized factors.

“Under National Clean Air Program, the centre and state governments are putting focus on reducing air pollution in 102 non-attainment tier 2 cities, including those of Haryana and Punjab by 20-30% in next five years. However we need to identify the source, which we don’t do and plan accordingly with robust scientific approach. Increasing grass cover, urban landscaping and attention to rural locations are some of the solution to reduce pollution of PM 2.5 in these two tier cities,” he added.

