Agra is the most polluted city of Uttar Pradesh, reveals survey

Lucknow: Agra, the most favoured tourist destination in India, has earned a dubious distinction of being the most polluted city of Uttar Pradesh during this monsoon, a latest survey reveals.

Centre for Environmental and Energy Development (CEED), a non-profit organisation on Wednesday released data from the 24 hour monitoring of ambient air quality of late monsoon months (August-September) in which the Taj city remained worst among the five cities included in the survey.

Allahabad came out as the second most polluted city followed by Lucknow, Varanasi and Kanpur. This condition of poor air quality suggests severe risks pertaining to health such as lung cancer, asthma attacks, cardiovascular damage, developmental and reproductive detriment and also premature death.

The particulate matters emanating from automobiles, refuse burning, industries, coal-fixed power plants and diesel emissions have contributed to the extraordinary high numbers of days with unhealthy particulate matter.

What CEED demanded and suggested?

• To develop an efficient clean air action plan for the state.
• An action plan for each urban centre must be developed to provide healthy breathable air to its citizens.
• To formulate a policy that includes a provision to adopt emergency measures where vulnerable communities receive constant alerts and updates about the area’s air quality.
• The policy must also aim at efficient transport system, delinking diesel, reducing industrial emission with special focus on clean bricks manufacturing methods, strict banning of open waste burning, encouraging clean cooking methods, and controlling dust pollution by increasing the green cover.

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