JOIN USDespite very high levels of pollutants in the city’s air, the festive trend of bursting firecrackers continue. The Supreme Court recently expressed unhappiness over the government not doing enough to raise awareness.
Sunny, 13, will neither play with firecrackers nor see display of fireworks on Diwali day at his house in Mangolpuri. Like every year, his outdoor days are again over with the festival round the corner.
He has only an extra can of rasgulla and a toy to look forward to. His parents will think twice even before lighting an incense stick at home.
Sunny, the youngest of three children, is an asthma patient for the past 10 years. The symptoms become severe during Dusshera and Diwali. With poor quality air at this time, the health condition of patients like Sunny gets worse.
“We feel bad to completely restrict our child at home when other children will be playing outside. But we cannot allow him to venture out even for a short while on Diwali day. He suffers from bouts of breathlessness if he goes out even before Diwali day. I have to constantly monitor his health,” says Balbir Singh.
Singh drives private trucks for a living. His child has been undergoing treatment at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital. He has to go for follow-up every two months. Doctors treating Sunny say the severity of the asthma symptoms get aggravated around Diwali.
“Such children are often advised to remain indoors around this time as the severity of the asthma symptom is multiplied. The cases of respiratory distress have doubled in the OPDs and casualty, which reflect the poor air quality and its impact on patients,” says Dr Abhishek Chatterjee, paediatrics department, RML Hospital.
The air quality is represented by annual mean concentration of particulate matter PM10 and PM2.5. According to the World Health organisation, the Air Quality Guidelines provide targets for concentrations of PM10 and PM2.5 aimed at promoting a gradual shift from high to lower concentrations. If the targets can be achieved, “significant reductions in risks for acute and chronic health effects from air pollution can be expected”, says the WHO.
According to data collected by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in 2014, PM10 and PM2.5 levels on a normal day were 129 and 97 respectively at Pragati Maidan.
However, the figures rose to 442 (for PM10) and 323 (for PM2.5) on Diwali day. The standard PM10 and PM2.5 levels are 100 and 60 respectively. The constant air monitoring by CPCB at Pitampura and Janakpuri showed increased levels of both PM10 and PM2.5.
While the PM climbed to 756 at Pitampura, it was recorded at 648 in Janakpuri on Diwali day in 2014. The figures were equally high in 2013; PM2.5 was found to be 678 and 510 in Pitampura and Janakpuri respectively on Diwali, according to statistics available with the CPCB.
Patients bear the brunt of poor air quality. Hospitals across the city have reported a steep rise in respiratory distress cases in both the OPDs and casualty department in the past two weeks.
Not getting better
“The pollution graph has steeply risen in the past few days. Patients are at a risk of suffering from severity of any kind of infection. Upper respiratory tract infection is being more commonly reported in hospitals. The aggravated problems are manifested through spasm, reactivity, breathlessness, cough and nasal problem. It is important that patients take the medication properly. In several cases, the dose is increased so that patients can cope better in this situation. What also adds to the pollution level is vehicular traffic in packed roads during any festive season,” says Dr Raj Kumar, head of department, Department of Respiratory Allergy and Applied Immunology, Vallabhai Patel Chest Institute.
Patients suffering from severe asthma feel it is important to identify the distress signs early.
“The attack can be prevented if I identify the manifestations early. If the air pollution rises, I typically feel an irritation in my throat. I am particular about my medication and avoid polluted places during this time to avoid any attacks,” says Tulika Chandra, a resident of Dwarka. She has been undergoing treatment at Fortis Hospital for several years now.
Confining people indoors may not always be a practical solution, say doctors. “The patients need to be monitored and the medication needs to be well regulated at this time. Asking people to completely stay indoors or asking patients to leave the city may not be a practical solution. In cases when patients can afford, such patients make visits to places with better air quality during this time,” says Dr Ashok Rajput, Director Pulmonology, Fortis Shalimar Bagh.
Doctors say the adverse impact of poor quality continues even a few days after Diwali with OPDs flooded with patients suffering from distress in the subsequent days. “There is increased number of cases in the next two days after Diwali. Patients suffering from acute problems are asked to remain indoors. But this cannot solve the problem either. This year, several patients are buying air purifiers to protect themselves from indoor pollution. It may or may not be effective,” says Dr Randeep Guleria, head of department, Pulmonology Medicine, AIIMS.
What is govt doing?
Officials of the Environment Department claim spreading awareness on not bursting crackers is their best bet to keep air and noise pollution under check during Diwali. Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia has written to 2,000 educational institutions in one of biggest efforts seen in the city to involve students in a campaign to dissuade them from cracker bursting on Diwali, which leads to high air pollution..
Sisodia, also in-charge of education portfolio, in his letter urged the heads of the schools and colleges to run a “say no to crackers” campaign to reduce noise and air pollution during Diwali. He urged the institutions to involve students in campaigns, seminars and marches in an attempt to keep them away from bursting of crackers.
The department has also sought to weed out the so-called “more polluting” Chinese firecrackers from the city market by writing to the customs department to curb import of the crackers. On October 26, a senior official of the Delhi Pollution Control Committee pushed for restrictions on movement of Chinese crackers and “requested the commissioner of customs (import and general) to send a report about the strategies undertaken and consignment confiscated”.
“Apart from giving advertisements in newspapers, we also put up hoardings and conduct workshops to spread awareness,” said Environment Secretary Ashwani Kumar. Sources in the department claim the outcome from the sensitisation exercises cannot be quantified.
“Since there is no impact on the post-Diwali air pollution over the past few years, it is no secret that awareness campaigns have not yielded much,” said an official, who did not wish to be named.
In the last week of October, the ‘Say No to Fire Crackers’ workshop was held to sensitise and to create public awareness about the harmful effects of air and noise pollution emanating due to the use of fire crackers.
Environment Minister Imran Hussain presided over the workshop which was attended by various stakeholders, including representatives of eco-clubs of various schools and colleges and also representatives of RWAs, NGOs and government departments and agencies.
Hussain said, “There is no alternative to actively creating awareness among the public about the harmful effects of air and noise pollution due to the bursting of firecrackers.”
Meanwhile, Sunny and several other asthma patients like him will just have to settle for an extra box of sweets and pray for better air quality in coming years.