No breathing easy in Lko either

LUCKNOW: Lucknow continued to reel under polluted air, leaving people with respiratory diseases gasping.

The city’s air quality index (AQI) on Sunday was recorded at 400, but by evening hours the air quality of Rajajipuram and Gomtinagar areas deteriorated further, recording 432 in Gomtinagar and 410 in Rajajipuram between 7 pm to 10 pm. The city had AQI of 422 on Saturday.

Vijay Kumar Singh, a resident of Vivek Khand Gomtinagar, had to rush to the hospital on Sunday morning after he fell unconscious during his morning walk. He is a patient of chronic respiratory disease.

Seven-year-old Disha was climbing the stairs in her house in Gomtinagar on Saturday when she suddenly started gasping for breath and collapsed. Her father rushed her to a private hospital where the doctors put her on oxygen.

An AQI between 0-50 is considered ‘good’, 51-100 ‘satisfactory’, 101-200 ‘moderate’, 201-300

‘poor’, 301-400 ‘very poor’, and 401-500 ‘severe’.

Above 500 is the ‘severe-plus’ or ‘emergency’ category. Lucknow-based gynecologist Dr Jyotsna Mehta said particulate matter less than 2.5 microns which is escalated sharply may hamper the oxygenation to the fetus. “Studies show it may aggravate the risk of low birthweight baby (LBW), premature birth. Likewise a third trimester (6th to 9th month of pregnancy) exposure to high particulate matter pollution as is currently prevailing in Lucknow may put women at twice the risk of delivering a baby with autism,” she said.

While sharing tips to combat rising pollution, experts were of the opinion that using a cotton cloth (gamcha) and fold it in four layers before covering your mouth and nose was a good idea. “Staying indoors whenever possible is a good option. But one cannot avoid going out hence precautions must be taken and this includes covering the mouth and nose properly to avoid inhaling pollutants,” said Dr Surya Kant, HoD of pulmonary medicine at the KGMU. Those feeling respiratory distress could also take steam twice a day which would bring them relief, said the doctor.

On the direction of UPPCB, the administration has banned the burning of wood, charcoal and garbage in the state capital. The LMC has been asked to deploy mechanical sweepers to clean the roads besides sprinkling water.

The traffic department has been asked to organise a drive to reduce traffic congestion. Industries have also been asked to check emissions.