Air pollution in Vijayawada more than national average

Annual avg of SPM in the city is 80 mcg/cubic metre as opposed to 60 mcg, posing a serious health hazard
Image for representational purposes( Express illustrations)
Image for representational purposes( Express illustrations)

VIJAYAWADA: With suspended particulate matter increasing, the air of Vijayawada is slowly becoming unhealthy with the risk of diseases like asthma, allergies and lung infections reaching an alarming level, if city doctors are to be believed. The Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board officials have also confirmed the rise of particulate matter in the air of the city, with the annual average of air pollutants surpassing the national average.

The annual average of suspended particulate matter (SPM) is 80 micrograms/cubic metre in the city while it should be at 60 micrograms/cubic metre, according to the national quality standard. The citizens, therefore, are in for severe respiratory distress as they inhale this particulate matter. Speaking to TNIE, B Murali, a pulmonologist, said, “Air pollution is one of the prime reasons behind the increase of asthma cases, allergies, and lung disorders among the public. Air pollutants are not like garbage on the road that you clean it and it becomes fine. One has to take certain measures like covering the face with a mask or a cloth to keep oneself safe. Inhaling carbon particles, ammonia gases and oxides of nitrogen and sulphur will cause severe respiratory problems. It is advised that the public take certain measures and safety steps to avoid further complications and other respiratory problems.”

The development works going on in different places of the city are also adding to air pollution. The roads are at times dug up for the laying of cables and pipes, but the municipal corporation authorities instead of laying a new road just fill the pit and leave and when vehicles ply on these roads they leave a trail of dust flying in the air causing an immense problem for the pedestrians and the locals.

V Kishore, a resident of Siddhartha Nagar, one of the posh areas of Vijayawada, said, “I felt that the area where I stay was the most pleasant one in the city. However, from the past few months with constant digging of roads for laying of pipelines, cables etc, it has become a terrific road. After completion of the works, instead of laying a new road, the officials just filled (the pit) with dry cement stone mixture. Now every particle of it is flying in the air causing huge discomfort to residents.” The areas such as Benz Circle, Autonagar, Ramavarappadu, Krishna Lanka and Police Control Room junction are plagued by severe dust pollution. Due to the heavy movement of motor vehicles, the emission of carbon particles and oxides of sulphur is high too. The situation has become worse due to the lack of roadside greenery, as the dust gets accumulated in the air. The posh areas of the city such as Siddhartha Nagar, Pinnamaneni Polyclinic road are also affected as lot of road and construction works are taking place there, as has already been mentioned.

As per the national ambient air quality standards, respirable SPM should be around 60 microgram/cubic metre annually. But in Vijayawada, it is more than 100 microgram/cubic metre and sometimes reaches 110 micrograms/cubic metre. On average, it settles in between 80-110 microgram/cubic metre on a busy day.
BV Prasad, JSO at APPCB, said, “It is true that the particulate matter in Vijayawada city is increasing. There are 10 stations in the city to monitor air quality, of which nine are manual and one is a real-time monitoring station. The day averages seem just below the maximum limit, whereas, the monthly and the yearly averages are   crossing   the national standards.”

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