Bikaner : Bikaner 16 year old Sumitra has not been able to go to school for three months due to suffering from respiratory disease. Suresh Pareek’s wife Santosh and his three nephews are also suffering from asthma. Such is the situation of every house in Khara village adjacent to Khara industrial area. When the Pollution Control Board measured the air quality index there, it came to 900, which is the highest in the entire state. Air pollution in the village has reached dangerous levels. The main reason for this is said to be the smoke emanating from more than 40 POP factories adjacent to the village.
When she reached this village, the situation appeared shocking. There was a thick layer of smoke in the sky above the village. There was no house, tree or other object on which dust was not accumulated. Even the grains kept in the houses were covered with smoke dust. Gaje Singh Sisodia, Mahavir Singh, Omaram Prajapat, Puran Singh, Dularam, Chandra Singh, Mangilal told that there is a feeling of suffocation in the village 24 hours. It has become difficult to breathe in open air. There is a cloud of smoke in the sky from evening till 10 in the morning. Ramuram’s 70-year-old father Chogaram, who lives 10 meters away from the factory, and his five children are also ill. Chhailu Singh told that his daughter Sumitra is undergoing treatment for asthma. I haven’t been able to go to school for three months. It has to be kept at home only. The son has to depend on inhaler all the time. Sarpanch Bhairusingh Rathod said that the population of this village of 1500 houses is about 12 thousand. Two-three members of every household are suffering from respiratory diseases. Red rashes have also started appearing on the body of some people. We have informed the administration about the situation several times, but no one is able to take care of it, let alone close down the polluting factories. More than four hundred children and staff of the government school are also badly troubled.
AQI above danger mark
To check air pollution in Khara village, the Pollution Control Board has installed machines at people’s homes at three different locations. With this, air pollution will be checked for 10 days. The average air quality index for the last one week has been recorded at 900. This standard is shocking. Regional officer of the division, Rajkumar Meena says that this standard is the highest and unbelievable in the state. This condition is due to 40 POP factories adjacent to the village. The AQI at a distance of two-three km from here is between 200 to 300. A survey is being conducted considering the situation in the village.
That’s why air pollution is spreading
There are about 500 industries in the RIICO industrial area, out of which 125 are POP factories. Years ago a mineral zone was created in the limits of Khara village. 40 out of 125 factories were given plots in that zone. At that time the population of the village was less. Now the population has come close to the mineral zone. There is only one road distance between the two. When the wind blows towards the village, even breathing becomes difficult. The regional officer of the Pollution Control Board says that all the factories run together. The biggest reason for this is that the standard of air pollution in the village is 900 AQI.
what is the solution
According to the Pollution Control Board, the solution to this problem is to shift the mineral zone adjacent to Khara village somewhere else. Actually this problem has arisen only in the last three years. In May last year, the Divisional Commissioner had also called a meeting on this issue. In that meeting, there was a discussion on shifting 40 factories elsewhere, but it could not be implemented and the matter was suppressed.
Asthma is caused by excess pollution
Dr. Pramod Thakral, chief expert of the respiratory diseases department of PBM, says that the main cause of asthma and COPD is air pollution. The smoke coming out of POP factories is causing respiratory diseases. At the same time, Dr. RD Mehta, senior skin specialist of PBM Hospital, says that skin diseases are not caused by smoke. There could be some other reason for this. “The mineral zone was cut by RIICO. At that time they should have taken care of the boundaries of the village. Now the POP workers are working under the guidelines of the Pollution Department. The biggest problem is cleanliness. There is a lot of vehicle pollution. RIICO should get the roads cleaned. The biggest problem is the smoke coming from POP factories near Khara village. The only solution to the problem is to close them and shift them to another place. Our survey is going on. Its report will be sent to the administration, RIICO and the government by next week.
