91% Delhi citizens blame authorities for air pollution: LocalCircles survey

4 out of 5 families suffering pollution related ailments, says a survey by LocalCircles

With the Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR) being engulfed in air pollution again amid the onset of winters, related ailments are also on a rise. Stubble burning in the adjoining states of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh along with firecrackers during Diwali in the first week, has exacerbated the situation with the Air Quality Index (AQI) touching the highest metric.

In a survey by LocalCircles, 91 per cent of the Delhi residents believed several authorities were completely or partly ineffective in curbing the transportation, distribution and sale of crackers this Diwali season. While Delhi had a complete ban on sale of firecrackers, a thriving black market and no ban in adjoining states of UP and Haryana led to rampant firecracker burning.

The survey also highlighted the health impact of air pollution. It said, four out of five families in Delhi-NCR are now experiencing one or more ailments due to polluted air.

“In the first question, citizens were asked that with Delhi-NCR air quality turning severe, what are the kind of ailments they and their family have been experiencing last week and this. In response, 16 per cent said sore throat or cough or both, another 16 per cent said runny nose, congestion or burning eyes, and there were also 16 per cent who said breathing difficulty,” said the results of the survey.

The survey report said, on an aggregate basis, 48 per cent of those surveyed are experiencing “breathing difficulty”, another 44 per cent have “sore throat or cough or both”, and 44 per cent are down with “runny nose, congestion or burning eyes”.

Delhi’s AQI continues to be in the ‘very poor’ category. The AQI on Monday was 368. LocalCircles survey indicated 22 per cent of the citizens say they or someone in their family have already visited a doctor or a hospital regarding an air pollution related ailment. The report said, doctors in Delhi are reporting a 20-25 per cent increase in the number of patients coming in for congestion, burning eyes and respiratory issues.

For the survey, about 34,000 responses were received from residents of Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida, Ghaziabad and Faridabad. Some 66 per cent of the respondents were men while 34 per cent were women. The survey was conducted via LocalCircles platform, and all participants are validated citizens who had to be registered with LocalCircles to participate in this survey.