Poor air quality in Mumbai: 78 pc of families have one or more members with sore throat or cough, reveals survey

Mumbai is grappling with respiratory ailments as the air quality of Indias financial hub has been poor for the past couple of days The city has seen a spike in cases of cold headaches throat infections persistent dry coughs and breathing difficultiesA survey by LocalCircles received nearly 7000 responses from Mumbai residents of which 67 percentwere men while 33 per cent were womenThe first question in the survey was ldquoWhat are all the ailments you or members of your family in Mumbai are now experiencing due to air pollutionrdquoOf the 2539 respondents to the query more than one option was indicated with the largest group of 78 per cent saying ldquosore throat and or coughrdquo 44 per cent choosing ldquoburning eyesrdquo 39 per cent pointing to ldquorunny nose andor congestionrdquo 28 per cent picking ldquobreathing difficultyasthmardquo 22 per cent difficulty sleepingrdquo and 17 per cent ldquoheadacherdquoTo sum up as air quality stays bad 78 per cent of Mumbai families surveyed indicated that they have one or more members with a sore throat andor cough while 44 per cent have one or more experiencing burning eyes The survey allowed Mumbai residents to select multiple conditions that they are experiencing LocalCircles saidFor most residents of Mumbai traveling to work school or college takes considerable time so there is no escaping air pollution The survey asked respondents ldquoHow are you and your family coping with the poor air quality in MumbairdquoOut of 2017 Mumbai residents who responded to this query 25 per cent said they are ldquousing antipollution maskrdquo 17 per cent added that besides antipollution masks they have increased consumption of immunityboosting foods and 8 per cent indicated that in addition to these protection measures they are using air purifiers at home The remaining 50 per cent of the respondents stated they are ldquonot doing any of the aboverdquo as a precautionThe data shows that despite high levels of air pollution which is regarded as unhealthy half of Mumbai residents surveyed are not taking any steps to protect themselves The other half rely on masks a quarter on immunityboosting foods and only 8 per cent are using air purifiers at home LocalCircles saidThe survey then asks respondents what according to them are ldquothe key causes of air pollution in Mumbai this yearrdquoThe 2483 respondents indicated more than one reason The main reason according to 85 per cent of respondents is ldquoroad and construction dustrdquo 62 per cent said ldquomotor vehicle emissionrdquo 38 per cent pointed towards ldquoindustrial and power plant emissionsrdquo 31 per cent chose ldquomanual road sweepingrdquo 15 per cent indicated ldquodiesel generator emissionsrdquo and 38 per cent opted for ldquoother reasonsrdquo not mentioned above In addition 8 per cent of respondents chose ldquocanrsquot sayrdquoThe LocalCircles in its summary said 78 per cent of Mumbai families surveyed have indicated that they have one or more members with sore throat andor cough while 44 per cent have one or more experiencing burning eyes The survey reveals that the majority of Mumbaikars are not depending on any safeguards like immunityboosting foods or air purifiers to combat the effects of rising air pollution in the city Just 8 per cent of those surveyed are using air purifiers at home and 25 per cent are consuming more immunity boosting foods and 50 per cent are using antipollution face masks in addition to other steps However 50 per cent of those surveyed seem to have given up the fight against air pollution and decided to live with itAs the expanding city and its suburbs have turned into a thriving construction area it seems hard for residents to escape the impact of high air pollution As the survey shows 85 per cent of Mumbai residents rate road and construction dust as the top cause of bad air quality in the city while 62 per cent believe it is also due to motor vehicle emissions and 38 per cent believe it is power emissions to that impact air quality Only the state government particularly the civic authorities can come to the rescue of residents to ensure Mumbais air quality doesnrsquot deteriorate further and come anywhere close to Delhi which has been struggling with toxic air quality for a decade now