Bhongir: Alarming rise in pollution

Bhongir: Pollution in different forms are posing threat to the health of the people in Yadadri-Bhongir district. Air, water, land, sky, are all teeming with pollutants, to the extent of ringing alarm bells in the district.

In Bhongir, Pochampally, Yadagirigutta, Bibinagar and Bommalaramaram mandals, pollution is mainly caused by the drug industry, parboiled rice mills, textile and leather industries. Add to it, the polluted air spewed by the increasing number of vehicles, dust from stone crushers and chemical industries. Construction activity is causing no less threat to public health.

People are said to be increasingly approaching doctors with breathing problems due to polluted gases emitting from the industries. As if this is not enough, groundwater is rapidly getting contaminated, with the result that it is triggering uproar over coloured groundwater coming up the borewells.

Unabated release of toxics and other pollutants by the industries in the aforementioned mandals are leaving fertile lands barren, causing unrest among the already aggrieved farming community. With yields gradually dropping and also the produce seeing decline in quality by the year, agriculture is no longer seeing new entrants into the profession.

Water and ground pollution is also proving a bane for the cattle which are suffering from skin diseases and threat allergies. Birds are also being reported falling dead with the food becoming toxic. Rock dust from stone crushing units is another issue of grave concern to the people in the district.

In urban areas, it is air pollution which is taking a toll on public health. Vehicles and construction activity is to be blamed for this ugly state of affairs. In towns like Bhongir, Yadgirgutta, Choutuppal and Bibinagar, the level of pollution is steadily rising due to debris of buildings, supply of materials for new structures, increasing fumes from vehicles. The air contains major pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, cordon dioxide and sulphur dioxide.

Contamination in naturally clean air should be less than 100 micrograms per cubic meter, but on Wednesday, the air pollution index in Bhongir was 166, in Yadagirigutta it was 120 and it was 132 micrograms per cubic meter in Choutuppal.

Bhongir has a high 2.5 PM (particulate matter, micrograms per cubic metre) size of dust. Yadagirigutta has the highest 10 PM (particulate matter, micrograms per cubic meter) size of dust, while Chouttuppal has the highest 2.5 PM (particulate matter, micrograms per cubic metre) size of dust.

Pollution has increased due to chemical industries in the Choutuppal mandal.

The gases emitted by the companies at night are causing suffocation to the people in the town. There are chemical industries located in Lingojigudem, Aregudem, S.Lingotam, Mandhollagudem, Jaikesaram, Koyyalagudem, Devalammanagaram, Dandumalkapuram, Choutuppal, Thangadapally villages.