Balwant Garg Faridkot, November 1 Doctors here on Friday said the district had witnessed a surge in patients complaining of chest pain, breathlessness and irritation in eyes after thick haze descended across the region due to stubble burning. In haste to prepare their fields for wheat sowing, more and more farmers are relying on the zero-cost practice of putting their highly and easily combustible paddy residue on fire. The resultant smoke mix with atmospheric gases such as methane, nitrogen oxide and ammonia creates a deadly combination, leading to atmospheric smog in the region, said a senior medical specialist at Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital here. He said the number of patients complaining of chest pain, breathlessness and irritation in eyes had increased tremendously. “We have banned smoking at public places in Punjab, but breathing with high content of smoke and other highly poisonous gases is equivalent to smoking 20 cigarettes a day,” said a private medical practitioner. “Very small microscopic particles in this smog are considered particularly harmful because they are small enough to go deep into the lungs and pass into other organs, causing serious health risks. Things were never so bad in Faridkot and adjoining areas. But all thanks to our own act, we have witnessed this,” said a pulmonologist in the area. “Burning of stubble on a large scale and release of gases, along with sub micron-sized aerosols, are known to aggravate lung and respiratory diseases. There is a sudden increase in the number of patients having irrigation in their eyes,” said an ophthalmologist in the medical college. Besides doctors, medical stores are busy selling masks and air purifiers as many residents look to mitigate the smog’s more harmful effects. On roads and streets in the town, a majority of the people — unable to afford expensive preventive measures — are forced to endure the conditions as best they can, using makeshift masks such as covering the mouth with kerchief or a scarf. Satbir Singh, father of an 8-year-old student, who was suffering from cough, said the doctor had recommended his son to wear a pollution mask and change it two times a day, but he couldn’t afford it.

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