Hyderabad air not fit to breathe, say scientists

It is now official-the Hyderabad air is not fit for breathing. It is established beyond reasonable doubt that nearly 57 per cent of Hyderabad carbon footprint is contributed by vehicular emissions. Though Hyderabad doesn’t rank very high in the list of Indian metropolis with large carbon footprints, the proportion contributed by vehicles in the city is the highest in the country.

Not only the increasing two wheeler population but also the huge increase in garbage and lack of proper management. In a recent study by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru. The carbon footprints in Hyderabad is sixth largest in the country only ahead of Ahmedabad. Delhi as expected has topped.

Scientists led by Dr T.V. Ramachandra says that vehicular pollution in Hyderabad contributes to a whopping 57 per cent to its entire carbon footprint. The carbon foot prints in in Bengaluru is 43.5 per cent.

In Hyderabad, the fifth largest metropolitan city in the country, 32 per cent of the traffic police personnel are suffering from lung-related disorders like pneumonia and bronchitis, while 25 per cent of them are facing hearing impairment and another seven per cent of the traffic cops are complaining about eye-related problems due to dust particles.

The ongoing Metro Rail construction is not only causing widespread traffic chaos in the twin cities, but is perhaps responsible for alarming rise in air pollution over the last two years, AP Pollution Control Board (APPCB) scientists say

Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) C V Anand at a presentation made before the parliamentary standing committee on science, technology, environment and forests last December explained at length how increasing air pollution due to automobile exhausts and noise was affecting the health of traffic cops in Hyderabad over the years.

Of the 585 traffic junctions in Hyderabad city, 125 junctions such as those at Chaderghat, Dilsukhnagar, Madina, Mojamjahi Market, Lakdi-ka-pul and Sanjeeva Reddy Nagar are identified as highly-polluted areas. Another 200 traffic junctions are identified as medium-pollution zones. According to official figures, the total vehicular pollution load in Hyderabad had gone up from 528 tonnes in 1992 to 1246 tonnes per day in 2006 and almost 2100 tonnes in 2013.

But it isn't Hyderabad alone that is reeling under the layers of 'smoky air'. Certain districts within Andhra Pradesh too, are fast making its way to the 'critically polluted' list. Among them are Nalgonda, Guntur, Vijayawada and Kurnool, says a study by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE)