PM Modi’s constituency Varanasi among the most polluted city: CPCB report

At a time when all the National media is busy covering the Delhi Smog and people gasping for breath, there’s one more Indian city where the focus of the camera is yet to set upon. PM Narendra Modi’s own constituency, Varanasi, is also meeting the same fate as Delhi. In a report by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) found that the air quality of holy city Varanasi is most polluted among the 42 cities monitored recently.

Varanasi, PM Narendra Modi’s constituency, has Air Quality Index (AQI) at 4 pm was at an alarming 491, followed by Gurugram (480), Delhi (468), Lucknow (462) and Kanpur (461). The pollution categorised as ‘severe’ when the Particulate Matter falls between the range of 401 to 500. This affects the healthy person and causes serious health problems to those with existing diseases.

The stubble burning by farmers in the northern states of Punjab and Haryana has catalysed the problem of air pollution in the northern belt of India.

The air pollution in the National Capital has worsened in the last few days, with air quality dropping to ‘severe’ category and thick toxic smog enshrouding the region. Besides hampering the visibility on road, the situation has become a public ‘health emergency’.

The Delhi High Court also issued a slew of directions to control pollution in Delhi-NCR and banned felling of trees, ordered sprinkling of water on roads to control dust and strict enforcement of construction code.