Gurgaon less noisy, air less polluted after Diwali this year

According to the Deputy Commissioner, Deepti Umashankar, the pollution level was checked at various places across the city over three days. “The suspended particulate matter (SPM) was 832 micro gram per metre cube (mg/Nm^3) as compared to last years 978. The level of respiratory problems intensifying RSPM was at 520 this year compared to 621 in 2007. On the day of Diwali, the level of sulphur dioxide (SO2) was 36 and nitrogen oxide (NOX) was 67 micro gram per metre cube,” said Umashankar. She added last year, the level of SPM was 978, RSPM level was 621, SO2 was 49 and NOX level was 77.

According to the DC, the noise pollution level was also checked on Mehrauli-Gurgaon road (near Mall area), bus stand, Sector-4 and 14 which was also five to seven per cent less than last year.

“This shows people are bursting less crackers and it is a good sign for environmentalists,” she added. Dr Sanjay Verma, MS, senior consultant ophthalmologist, Paras Hospital said, “The eye is most commonly affected organ of the body due to direct exposure and its fragile nature. Fire crackers can cause severe irreversible changes in the eyes such as corneal burns, cataracts, retinal detachment and permanent damage to other structure of the eyes. Last year, we received 12 eye emergency cases but this year only four cases were reported of which two needed surgeries. This is attributed to the significant reduction in crackers and higher awareness among people.”

Dr Aushotosh Shukla, HoD, internal medicine, Artemis Health Institute, said: “The suspended particles less than one micron trigger respiratory function disorder. Also the cases of burn injuries are on the rise during around this time of the year. However, this year we received 30-40 per cent less cases of respiratory disorder as well as cases of burns in our emergency.”