Madhav Pallan is highly allergic to smoke. And during Diwali he uses an inhaler to keep away the smoke emitted from firecrackers.
This Diwali too Pallan had to use the inhaler several times even though his house is just 50 metres away from the BMCs general hospital on RP Road, which according to SC guidelines is a silent zone.
Says Pallan, I find it difficult to breathe when the air is thick with smoke and I developed this problem three years ago. Last year, I had a really tough time during Diwali.
He adds, However, this year, since the cops claimed they would take strict action against violators, I was hoping for a smoke-free Diwali. But the situation was not any different from last year.
He adds, Even though my house falls in a silent zone, people were bursting crackers. The air was thick with smoke and it was very noisy. I had to use the inhaler three times.
Usha Desai, chief medical officer at Mulund General Hospital, claims the police did not stop people from bursting crackers in a silent zone.
She says, How can I complain against my neighbours who burst crackers? Even the police did not patrol the silent zones. People also violated the 10 pm deadline and there was thick smoke in the area during Diwali week.
Other residents also claim that the police did little to implement the guidelines. My building falls in a silent zone as the court is close by, but our building residents were bursting crackers during Diwali. They burst crackers even after 10 pm. The police never turned up, says a resident from SN Road.
However, police say they patrolled the area but didnt find any violators.
Says Vasantarao Jhadav, senior police inspector, We fined nine people for being a public nuisance during the Diwali week. And we did patrol the silent zones but didnt find any violators. It could be because people stop bursting crackers when we are there and continue after we leave. We cant do anything about it.
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Mulund second most polluted suburb during Diwali: State pollution boardDr Allen Castellino, who runs a clinic on St Pius Road, says that several patients complained of breathing problems during Diwali week.
Every Diwali, I get around three to four patients who are allergic to smoke and pollution. This Diwali, I had at least five to six patients daily, who complained of breathing problems, he says.
Incidentally, a field study conducted by the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board shows that after Sion, Mulund had the most polluted air during Diwali week.
Says Dr DB Boralkar, member secretary of the Board, Our field staff tested the ambient air quality during the week in the suburb. Pollution levels were really high during Diwali in Mulund.
He adds, The RSPM (respiratory suspended particulate matter) was much above the acceptable level in the suburb. It was in the range of 120 micro-gram per cubic metres during the week. The highest acceptable limit for a city like Mumbai is 100.
Boralkar explains, Other pollution parameters like SO2 and NO2 were also higher than the normal values during Diwali.
