Rohtak chokes amid polluted air

AIR QUALITY INDEX IN ROHTAK DURING EARLY MORNING AND EVENING HOURS IS WORSE THAN MANY PARTS OF DELHI AND GURGAON

ROHTAK: A thick blanket of smog engulfed Rohtak on Tuesday morning with residents complaining of breathing problems and motorists struggling with poor visibility.

At least four people were injured on the Rohtak-bhiwani road due to pile-ups amid poor visibility.

The air quality index — a pollutant measuring indicator — hovered over 300 (hazardous) in Rohtak during early morning and evening hours, worse than many parts of Delhi and Gurgaon.

The air quality index used to be between 40 and 60 in Rohtak before Diwali. Experts blamed the spike in pollution levels to stubble burning, automobile pollution, crackers, and emission from factories and brick kilns.

“As a possible consequence of climate change, the weather is at a complete standstill since October. Due to negligible wind speed, this type of smog build-up is here to stay for more days,” said Prof Rajesh Dhankar, head of department of environmental sciences at Maharshi Dayanand University.

In Haryana, real-time air quality monitoring stations are installed in only four districts — Gurgaon, Faridabad, Panchkula and Rohtak. Doctors at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (PGIMS), Rohtak, issued an advisory asking children and the elderly to stay indoors and use masks while venturing out.