Muzaffarnagar: Close to 60,000 old vehicles were taken off the road in Muzaffarnagar on Tuesday by the authorities which suspended their licences as part of crackdown on pollution which continued to wreak havoc on the health of people residing in western UP cities, some of which figured on the top of country’s most polluted city’s list.Interestingly, the transport department’s move came a day after farmers’ outfit Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) activists held a big protest in Muzaffarnagar against RTO’s ongoing crackdown on tractors which are over 10 years old. They wanted immediate discontinuation of all those diesel railway engines which are more than 10 years old.The Supreme Court earlier this month imposed a blanket ban on 15-year-old petrol and 10-year-old diesel vehicles in Delhi-NCR, endorsing the NGT’s 2015 ruling.As many as 59,335 vehicles’ registrations were suspended on Tuesday.According to Rajeev Bansal, assistant regional transport officer (ARTO) Muzaffarnagar: “We have set a six-month time limit for such vehicle owners to get no-objection certificates (NOC) for selling or using their vehicle out of Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR). After that period, no NOC will be issued from the department.”After suspension of the registrations, these vehicles will no longer be valid to ply on the roads, but can be transferred to other regions, a department source said.Soon after the announcement, BKU slammed the traffic department’s decision.Raju Ahlawat, district head of the outfit said: “This act is totally against farmers and the ruling party will pay for it in next general election. The government should also cancel old government vehicles like rail engines, roadways buses which are old but still playing on roads.”Meanwhile, in the air quality monitoring data released by the Central Pollution Control Board on Tuesday, Meerut zone continues to be one of the most highly polluted areas in the country with Baghpat, Bulandhsahr, Hapur and Muzaffarnagar registering “very poor” air quality of air here.The index value recorded in these cities was 398 in Baghpat, 359 in Bulandshahr, 383 in Hapur, 358 in Muzaffarnagar. The primary reason for the air pollution here continued to be the crop fires of Punjab and Haryana. Dr Harish Mohan Rastogi, medical practitioner, said: “The current level of pollution is very dangerous for cardiac patients, young children and elderlies. Among elderlies, the body is unable to release toxins like carbon dioxide and this leads to drowsiness owing to acute chest infection.”Meanwhile, the hospitals in West UP are prepared to deal with the patients complaining of breathing issues and other problems due to pollution. Dr Raj Kumar Chaudhary, chief medical officer, Meerut, said, “People should try and remain indoors during this time – especially the ones who already have breathing issues. One should drink a lot of water as it helps in preventing these issues.”

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