• Source:JND
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Air Pollution: As several cities in Bihar record very poor air quality, the state pollution control board on Sunday asked the district administration to strictly enforce laws to check the pollution in the respective areas. According to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) daily AQI bulletin (November 11 at 4 p.m.) of 243 cities in the country, Begusarai was at the top of the list with AQI at 382, closely followed by Saran at 376 and Patna at 375. Other districts in the satte where the AQI was in the very poor category include Hajipur (356), Purnea (350), Katihar (350), Motihari (341) Bhagalpur (340), Rajgir (329), and Arrah (323).

The AQI is a measure of the air quality, taking into account the eight pollutants: PM 2.5 (particulate matter less than 2.5 microns), PM 10 (particulate matter less than 10 microns), nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide, ozone, carbon monoxide, ammonia and lead.

An AQI over 300 is considered to be of very poor quality. It leads to respiratory illness with prolonged exposure, says CPCB, as quoted by news agency PTI.

"It is true that the air quality has deteriorated in several districts in the state. It is because of climatic conditions also... as a large part of the state has not received rainfall in the last two-three days. Despite that, we have given instructions to the concerned district administrations to strictly enforce laws to check air pollution in their respective areas," said Bihar State Pollution Control Board (BSPCB) chairman Devendra Kumar Shukla to news agency PTI. 

"All concerned District Magistrates have also been asked to identify hotspots in their respective districts. In a recent meeting, the chief secretary also directed all concerned towards the constitution of special squads for identification of hotspots, particularly areas of construction activities, waste management including transportation of building materials, waste dumping and burning, traffic congestion hotspots, agricultural stubble burning besides dry road sweeping and water sprinkling and dry leaf burning," he added.

Meanwhile, the Delhi government has appealed to the people of the national capital and its adjacent areas to not burst firecrackers and make it difficult for people to breathe during the festival of Diwali. The environment minister, Gopal Rai, urged the people to instead celebrate the festival in a grand manner by lighting earthen lamps (diyas).