Stakeholders were not playing their due role to reduce air pollution that was making a large number of people suffer respiratory and skin diseases in Quetta.

This was said by experts who were talking to APP, here on Wednesday.

Dr Munir Ahmed Raisani, chest specialist and former programme manager TB Control Programme Balochistan said ” ongoing construction work on bridges and roads, installation of crushing machines on mountains surrounding Quetta valley and plying of old vehicles were damaging air quality”.

He said that thousands of carbon emitting vehicles in the city that was once called little Paris in past but now not only causing air pollution but noise pollution too that making citizens suffering from depression and respiratory diseases. A large number of patients suffering from respiratory disease, asthma, Tuberculosis and other, daily visit hospitals and private clinics he said adding that carbon, nitrogen, smoke and dust particles in the air causing diseases among people. He revealed that presently, every third person of the city was suffering from respiratory disease because of non-availability of healthy air and environment.

He said that Provincial TB Control Programme conducted a contacted observation survey that unveiled that every 10 to 15 persons out of total 100 might be vulnerable to TB and other fatal respiratory diseases due to air pollution. He said that air pollution could be controlled and improved if attention paid to complete ongoing work on road and bridge construction as early as possible, making the vehicles in dilapidated condition off road, and implementation of rules and regulations strictly to control road traffic. When contacted, renowned scientist and former manager of International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Balochistan chapter, Zabardast Khan Bangash said that Quetta is narrow valley surrounded by mountains and air enters the city through narrow passage of mountains with speed that also brings dust.

” When carbon dioxide mixes with dust particles and it hovers on the city with rising of temperature at daytime while it could not leave the city because of surrounding high mountains and resultantly, at evening time, it comes down, causing respiratory, skin and lungs diseases,” Bangash said.

He said that Government Vehicular Examiner System had totally failed as the official concerned were allegedly issuing vehicle fitness certificates from their office instead of testing the fitness of vehicle whether it was meeting the standard or emitting carbon, contributing into surging level of air pollution.

continue reading Pollution killing many in Balochistan capital.