Setting aside the claim of the Chhattisgarh Environment Conservation Board (CECB), the Chhattisgarh Nagrik Sangharsh Samiti (CNSS) has charged that the pollution level in Raipur worsened this Diwali.
As per World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, the annual average concentration of PM2.5 should not exceed 5 µg/m3 while 24-hour average exposure should not exceed 15 µg/m3 more than 3-4 days per year.
Senior CNSS member Dr Rakesh Gupta said the survey of the State Health Resource Centre (SHRC) states that as per online real-time data, the PM2.5 level was highest at Ambedkar Awas Gudhiyari and was measured to be 362 and it was 208 at Sarona (Urla).
Citing SHRC reports, Gupta said that in the posh locality of Shankar Nagar, the PM2.5 before Diwali was 126 which soared to 222 on Diwali night.
The PM10 in Shankar Nagar before Diwali was 146 and soared to 401 at 11 p.m. on Diwali, Gupta said.
“We were fortunate that air speed at 9-10 km in Raipur prevented the pollution level from doubling,” he said.
Another CNSS member and social activist, Manjeet Kaur Bal, alleged that the meters of CECB had gone out of order.