With mercury level going up everywhere in the world, the denizens of Dimapur have also experienced a change in weather particularly this year. What is worrisome is that toxic air pollution in the city and its suburbs leads to increase in number of respiratory diseases in recent years.
Even as there is no record in place to ascertain the intensity of air pollution impact on health, Nagaland Pollution Control Board (NPCB) member secretary Rusovil John said numbers of some unrecoverable diseases like Silicosis are increasing in highly-polluted areas from this part in the last years. NPCB records stated that concentration of Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter (RSPM) and Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM) in the city exceeds the permissible limit of 60 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m3).
The concentration of RSPM in Dimapur air is above 100 µg/m3.
Exposure to RSPM causes cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, and even cancers. The main causes for the increase of particulate matter in the dry season are because of the dust- from stone crushers and bad roads. Moreover, constructions activities, vehicular emissions, burning of wastes, construction and commercial activities add rising air pollution in the city.
Air pollution has become very grave that people are seen roaming with their mouth and nose covered with handkerchiefs these days. The worst effected may be those people exposed to dust and smoke the whole day such as the people living near the busy roads and the traffic police in the junctions, Rusovil stated.
Dimapur is the first polluted city in Nagaland while Kohima stands at second position. Bad roads condition is one of the factors for which dust pollution is increasing in the city, especially at Purana Bazaar, Kuda Village and Nagaland gate areas. The major pollutant, non black topped roads itself is a pollutant. When one drives on dusty roads, there are pedestrians inhaling the dusts. These small particles when it gets to the lung, it raises various health conditions, especially of the lung, Rusovil said. “However, we don’t have much data to back up the effects, locally,” he said.
In 2015, Dimapur Municipal council (DMC) repaired more than 12 roads, Border Roads Task Force (BRTF) had also taken up the repairing of several roads. However, there is no change in the situation in some places like Purana Bazaar, he said.
In addition to this, burning of wastes, mostly carpentry wastes add more trouble for the dwellers in these areas. Burning of tyres by motor garages located at Assam Gate and its suburb areas also release black smoke causing health hazards to the dwellers.
What more panic is that setting up of some industries like stone crushers in human habitation also aggravate the situation. The stone crushers release high density of stone dust in its surrounding areas causing health hazards for the inhabitants. There are reports of rising cases of Silicosis among Inhabitants living in such locations due to affect of such mushroom growth of stone crushers industries.
Stone dusts released by stone crushers are being cement in the cells of human body resulting in unrecoverable diseases like silicosis, Rusovil said.
Vehicular emission is also another factor for rising pollution level in Dimapur. However, Nagaland is far better off compared to other cities in terms of vehicular pollution. NPCB had been monitoring the Air Quality of the Dimapur city for several years of four air pollutants viz., Sulphur Dioxide (SO2), Oxides of Nitrogen as NO2, Suspended Particulate Matter SPM and RSPM.
The air monitoring stations in Dimapur i.e. Dhobinala and Bank colony shows that during winter/dry months the air pollution goes up. Basing on the records, the average concentration of RSPM was found to be highest in the month of December in both the stations.
NPCB has suggested the government for taking measures from all ends starting from every household, business establishment, Institutions, Industries etc to reduce the pollution level in the city. It said polluting industries should not be allowed within the towns and villages and existing industries located within residential area should be closed or relocated to earmarked industrial areas.
It also stressed on creation of massive awareness among city dwellers on environment protection, especially for urban planning with focus on environmental issues, phasing out of grossly polluting vehicles to check vehicular emission, curbing fuel adulteration, improvement of roads to reduce dust, netter traffic management to reduce congestion and emission and for a clean and new eco-friendly technologies to check pollution level in the city.
Presently, NPCB has been undertaking a innovating plan for solid waste management in Kohima, which is also operational in Dimapur city. It is believed the new mechanism will help check air pollution level to some extent.