POLLUTION FIGHT NEEDS BROADER ODISHA EFFORT

DELHI-NCR's dangerous air quality has dominated national headlines, but Odisha is quietly moving up the AQI ladder.

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Last week, four urban centres in the east breached the 300 mark. In the process, these locations even overtook the national capital, which had seen a short-lived improvement in air quality.Balasore recorded a PM2.5 level of 338, while Angul and Talcher followed with 321. Baripada too fell into the 'very poor' AQI category, with a reading of 301. These figures raise troubling questions. Angul and Talcher lie in one of eastern India's major coal belts and host thermal power plants, heavy industries and extensive mining operations. Their consistently poor air quality is largely the result of industrial pollution, mining operations and the heavy movement of vehicles. Baripada, however, does not fit this pattern and re