IE : Pollution blues hit citizens, PMC remains unmoved : Sept 10, 2007
Indian Medical Association’s 1996 study submitted to PMC gathers dust; Pune was ranked fifth most polluted city in Asia by World Bank in 2003
Radheshyam Jadhav & Nisha Nambiar
Pune, September 8: Even as rampant pollution in the city is leading to a drastic rise in cases of bronchitis, wheezing, common cold, skin rashes, eye infections and asthma, it appears as if nobody is bothered about its rub-off effect on generation next.
“The amount of lead produced by vehicle emissions continues to present an increasing hazard. Increasing number of kids are suffering from symptoms such as falling appetite, leading to anaemia while asthma is the other common ailment on the rise,” says city’s leading paediatrician Dr Jayant Navrange.
Pune, ranked the fifth most polluted city in Asia according to a World Bank report in 2003, appears to have hit a downwards spiral with the number of vehicles registered in the city growing at around nine per cent a year. The city branch of Indian Medical Association had in 1996 conducted a detailed survey on pollution and health hazards in the city and submitted the report to the then Municipal Commissioner Ramanath Jha.
As to be expected of any such report submitted to the civic administration, it too served no purpose but as a means to gather dust in its cupboard.
Dr Pravin Joshi, the then IMA president who initiated this study says the effort was made taking into consideration the opinions of all stakeholders but a good 11 years have passed but nothing has come of it, he laments. The report had insights on rising asthma cases among kids, as well as how chemicals emitted because of increasing vehicular traffic affected the normal behavioural pattern of people.
A dip in concentration to poor performance and breathing difficulties were some of the health problems that the report threw up as the outcome of vehicular pollution.
Two years ago the city-based Chest Research Foundation (CRF) conducted a study on the adverse effects of air pollution on human health, and also measured these against the adverse effects of smoking. The CRF and Department of Respiratory Medicine, B J Medical College conducted a research on 325 actively serving traffic policemen and 123 non-traffic policemen. Levels of carbon monoxide in exhaled breath were measured using the breath analyser. Exhaled carbon monoxide levels were considerably higher in traffic policemen than non-traffic policemen.
“Air pollution mediates harmful effects on the respiratory tract by generating oxidative stress, which is the first step in the development of various respiratory disorders such as asthma and COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder). This stress causes the lung cells to produce carbon monoxide, which can be used as a tool to measure the presence of underlying oxidative stress in the lungs,” says Dr Sandeep Salvi, director, CRF.
Adding to the city’s pollution levels are bad roads, says civic activist Vjiay Kumbhar. “Road dust is more than the simple dirt a vehicle stirs up as it moves along the road. Besides dirt from soil, road dust also contains suspended fine particulate matter from exhaust pipe emission,” he says.
Ajay Ojha, of the PMC’s Air Pollution Management Cell agrees: “Definitely bad roads are adding to the problem. The cell needs more equipment to conduct better surveys on air pollution.”
Though the PMC has so far failed from coming out with a status report on pollution and its impact on the health of citizens, the IMA has agreed to shoulder the responsibility. According to the state President of IMA Dr Devendra Shirole survey groups have been formed and once the findings are out, they will be submitted to the PMC. Going by historic evidence though, it’s debatable whether a fresh study will get the civic officials excited about the deteriorating health of the citizens.
Publicationb : IE; Section : Maharastra; Pg: 5; Date : 10/9/07
URL : http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=255296