SN Tiwari was taking a stroll near the Football House when he suddenly felt uneasiness and suffocation. Struggling to cope with breathlessness, he returned home leaving the walk in the middle. It was only after he took inhaler that he started to find normal breath. Soon, he consulted a doctor. The doctor said that he got affected by the dust in the area. Dwarka News
It is really sad that there are more people like him who struggle with dust allergy and asthma in Dwarka. The cause of such rampant cases of dust allergy and asthma is the illegal dumping of debris (waste building material) in the vacant plots across the area.
The illegal dumping of debris causes a lot of dust in the area. Be it a vacant land for a project or a green area or metro corridor, such building materials can be seen being dumped round the clock by the trucks and tractors.
A chronic patient with asthma and vice president of RWA of Sector 16B, Janta Flats, Ramesh Mumukshu has been facing a tough time every morning due to dust pollution in the area.
Mumukshu said to City Spidey, “In residential pockets, the construction is rampant and it is causing dust pollution inside the societies too. They find it easy to dump the waste material anywhere in vacant land nearest to the construction site. These things have polluted the environment.”
“Every day, I feel sneezing and breathlessness. I faced asthmatic attacks twice this summer. When the situation exacerbated, I spent about 20 days in Uttarakhand in my hometown. But, that is not a permanent solution. DDA and MCD know who all are doing these things and they should act on them. This is the violation of the law and the violators must be prosecuted according to laws,” said Mumukshu.
City Spidey had a talk with Dr Nitin Kumar, Cardiologist at Venkteshwar Hospital in Dwarka. He said that poor air quality has been linked to lung and heart problems including coronary artery disease, emphysema, respiratory infections, stroke, and cancer. It also is dangerous for pregnant women, as it can contribute to birth defects.
“Air pollution can also exacerbate numerous conditions including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. Children and the elderly are especially vulnerable to air pollution,” said Kumar.
“The World Health Organization says air pollution is the world’s largest environmental health risk as it killed an estimated 7 million people in 2012 alone. The vast majority of those deaths were due to cardiovascular diseases, namely stroke and ischemic heart disease. Of those, 3.3 million deaths were linked to indoor air pollution,” added Kumar.
Nitin suggested that people with dust allergy should avoid moving in areas having dust and should always keep an inhaler with them. “One should be at home mainly in morning and evening hours. One should take proper precaution like mask, inhaler etc while going out,” said Kumar.
