MEERUT: A team from the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) landed in Meerut on Tuesday morning to launch an intensive study of pollution levels here. Equipped with cutting-edge equipment, the team's primary aim is to analyse the impact of movement of 'discarded' vehicles from Delhi to the region.
Research associate of CSE, Polash Mukherjee, told TOI, "From polluting industries to old vehicles, all are being shifted out of Delhi and quite often land in nearby towns. This is just the shifting of problems from one area to another. We are here to study the impact on Meerut region."
The survey was coordinated by Neer Foundation, an NGO that deals with environment and water pollution.
Director of the foundation, Raman Tyagi, told TOI, "We needed accurate data on pollution levels in Meerut. We requested CSE to send its unit to study the impact of Delhi's vehicular movement to this region. The survey was from 10 am to 2 pm and the results are certainly disturbing."
The analysis was mainly done for particulate matter (PM) 2.5. These are the particles whose size is 2.5 micrometres or less. They easily enter the human body and often permeate the blood stream and lung tissues, leading to various kinds of diseases.
After completing the study, Polash Mukherjee told TOI, "The results are quite disturbing. According to Indian standards, PM2.5 should not exceed 60 micrograms per cubic metre, but here we found it was 300-400, while in outer areas it is close to 150-200. This is an alarming sign."
"The volume of diesel-run vehicles is huge here and we could witness a large number of vehicles bearing Delhi registration numbers, particularly of public transport including trucks. This is creating havoc here," he said.
Mukherjee added, "We are using diesel with high sulphur content which contributes greatly to rising pollution levels. Besides, red zone industrial units that include tannery, dye and textiles which were moved out of Delhi are now spread around NCR."
Senior pulmonologist VeerottamTomar said, "These suspended PM are so tiny that even the natural defense mechanism of the human body is not able to prevent them from entering the lungs and blood stream, leading to various diseases like chronic inflammation of lungs, bronchitis, TB and cancer. In children it leads to bronchial asthma and has over the years become quite common. The collective term for all these diseases is Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (COLD). As per an international study, COLD will soon become the first cause of death among humans because of rising pollution levels worldwide."
