Kolkata, Nov 24, 2024, IANS

Kolkata, Nov 24 (IANS) The Air Quality Index (AQI) in Kolkata and its adjacent Howrah town deteriorated on Sunday with the initial wintry effect also leaving an impact. The AQI levels in four out of six monitoring stations were recorded between 213 and 269, which come under the “purple” or “very unhealthy” category. Under this category, the risk of health effects increased for all. Only in two monitoring stations in Kolkata, the AQI levels have been recorded at 176 and 190 which come under the “red” or “unhealthy” category, where some members of the general public may experience health effects; members of sensitive groups may experience more serious health impact. The worst AQI level has been recorded at the monitoring station at Ballygunge in South Kolkata at 269 and the best being at the one at Jadavpur also in South Kolkata. The AQI levels at the adjacent Howrah district are even more alarming. The AQI level recorded at the Ghusuri monitoring station stands at 338 and at Dasnagar it was recorded at 321, both being in the “maroon” or “hazardous” category. Under this category, a health warning of emergency conditions is for all. Only at the Belur Math monitoring station, the AQI level was recorded at 244, which again comes under the “purple” or “very unhealthy” category. According to renowned green technologist and environment activist Somendra Mohan Ghosh, illegal landfills during the last two decades at East Calcutta Wetlands, which were designated a “wetland of international importance” under the Ramsar Convention on August 19, 2002, started having an impact on the environment of Kolkata. Recently, he forwarded a letter to Union Environment Minister Bhupendar Yadav to take immediate action against this illegal landfilling at East Calcutta Wetlands. “If this practice of illegal filling of wetlands at Ramsar Site continues, within no time Kolkata will become a gas chamber and will be flooded with polluted water. Whatever is going on, it is an environmental crime because the lungs and kidneys of Kolkata are heavily choked now,” read the letter, a copy of which is available with IANS.