Bus terminal, landfill choke Anand Vihar
NEWDELHI: It was a regular day for commuters at the Anand Vihar bus station in east Delhi. The toxic smog in the air had done little to disrupt their Saturday routine. People had set out with scarves and handkerchiefs around their noses.
Anand Vihar is one of the most polluted spots of Delhi. In the last week, the average air quality in the observatory here was consistently in the ‘severe’ category, around the 500 mark. This is the highest in the air quality index.
“We cannot sit at home fearing pollution,” said Manoj Tiwari, a resident of Shreshtha Vihar, a residential neighbourhood two kilometres from the bus terminal. Residents say two to three people in each family are suffering from respiratory problems and minor allergies this season.
The observatory at Anand Vihar records pollution levels within a 15-km radius. Localities such as Mayur Vihar Phase 1, 2 and 3, New Ashok Nagar and Akshardham are in its range.
The hundreds of diesel-belching interstate buses that enter the terminal make the air in the area worse than the rest of Delhi. Other areas suffer due to the proximity.
“Proximity with Ghaziabad makes the situation worse. On the Uttar Pradesh side, you have diesel buses running, which add to the pollution. The people here are the worst hit by this year’s spell,” said Raj Rajeshwari, a housewife.
She said her seven-month-old daughter has had severe chest congestion after Diwali day. Every four hours, Nikhita is advised nebulisation by the doctor.
Though the government has made CNG mandatory in all the public transport in Delhi, it has no control over transport buses entering from other states where clean fuel is still not mandatory.
The chemical residue from factories and printing press in and fires at the Ghazipur landfill make the air in the surrounding areas worse.
“The sulphur stench from the landfill is something we live with every day. Every now and then, fires spark there. Unless they get out of hand, no authority even bothers to control them. Patches at the landfill keep burning all night and smoke envelopes the roads,” said Shaukeen Mishra, a resident of Mayur Vihar phase-II.
She said though factories have been “moved out of the city”, it is still affecting its residents. “You might have moved them t from the heart of the city, but it is still affecting Delhiites,” she said. Pre-Diwali Diwali Nov 5 60 MPCM
Interstate bus station, diesel-belching buses ply
Chemical fumes from Ghazipur landfill
Emissions from factories