Soaring AQI levels makes Durgapur residents, patients feel uneasy

Om Sher Bahadur, a patient from Nepal is struggling to negotiate with the growing air pollution in Durgapur.

- KANCHAN SIDDIQUI

Failing to manage his increasing blood-cough that had increased within days of landing to Durgapur, Bahadur vanished from the sub-divisional hospital on Thursday morning. Physicians said Bahadur, a non-smoker never experienced such a breathing disorder before.

Biswadip Roy Chowdhury, a young entrepreneur of Bidhannagar locality here had left smoking 12 years ago and he suffered a sudden respiratory attack on Wednesday afternoon at his workplace. He said: "I felt utter discomfort in breathing with a pressure in the thorax part and had to take help of a breath analyzer for immediate relief.

Bidhannagar, close to the NH-19, is surrounded by a cluster of private iron and steel units, is gasping for quality air and recorded the highest presence of hazardous PM-10 of 256 mark at 1.55 pm in the ambient air yesterday. PM-10 is a particulate matter with a diameter of 10 micrometer or less and it generated by the ruthless operation of the industrial units. The WHO (World Health Organization) prescribed that presence of PM-10 shouldn't exceed an average 15 micrograms per meter-cube in air in 24 hours.