With many private and most commercial vehicles staying off the roads for the Commonwealth Games, Delhi has reported a steep fall in pollution levels in the last two weeks.
As per the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), while the permissible levels of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide are around 80 micrograms per cubic metre, the city on an average has been registering sulphur dioxide figures of 9.35 micrograms per cubic metre. Nitrogen dioxide figures have been 29.18 micrograms per cubic metre this month. The same period last year witnessed higher levels of pollution barring a few exceptions.
“The main reason for the decrease in air pollution is the fall in vehicular pollution this month,” said a senior CPCB scientist. Ironically, most Delhiites are staying off the roads fearing the traffic restrictions for the Games will lead to congestion.
Pooja Nair, a resident of Mayur Vihar Phase I, said: “People are avoiding unnecessary travel fearing jams and the CWG lanes.”
But on the flip side, this has affected business across the city. “Sales have definitely gone down. In the afternoons our shop would normally be packed, but now there are empty seats,” said Satish Aggarwal, owner of the popular Bengali Sweets in Bengali Market.
Shopping hubs like Sarojini Nagar and Connaught Place are faring no better. Vijay Kumar who owns a mobile shop in Sarojini Nagar blamed the tight security for the drop in footfall. “Who will venture out when there are so many policemen hovering around?” he asked.
Mohammad Kashir, a parking attendant in CP, said while on an average day he earns at least Rs 2,200, for the past week the same has dropped to less than half. Vikas Kumar, customer services officer at Fitness First Gym in CP, said, “Attendance is extremely low. Normally, we have around 600 people a day coming in, now we have about 400.”
(Ananya Bhardwaj, Jerrin Mathew, Dipankar Ghose, Arun Prashanth and Priyanka Rathi reported for the story. They are students of EXIMS)
