Kabul air pollution reduces as vehicles decrease: Residents

KABUL (Pajhwok): Air pollution in Kabul city has reduced due to the decrease in the number of residents, vehicles and industries in the central capital, local residents said on Saturday.

Prior to the political change in the country, Kabul city was more crowded and its residents usually complained about polluted air, especially in winter season.

But now residents say the air quality has improved compared to the past.

Ahmad Navid, a resident of Kabul city, told Pajhwok Afghan News the number of residents and vehicles had decreased in the city, which led to a decrease in the air pollution.

Navid also called the increase in the number of inactive industries as another reason for the decreased air pollution.

However, the municipality also played a positive role in the decrease of air pollution, he said.

Sardar Agha, another resident, told Pajhwok Afghan News that traffic congestion had decreased in the city and air pollution in the previous years created respiratory problems for residents.

Some other residents held similar views and they urged the government to pay more attention to the cleanliness of the city.

On the other hand, Engineer Basir Amin, acting director of the Environment Protection Administration, told Pajhwok Afghan News the air of Kabul city had become clearer compared to the past four years.

Some factories have been shut and the number of cars has decreased while some public baths have also been closed, which resulted in a decrease in air pollution, Amin said.

Some factors which previously contributed to air pollution have been also resolved like installation of filters by industries, bathrooms and bakeries.

Amin added some other guilds like public bathrooms which used to burn coal had turned to gas and it had a direct effect on air pollution decrease.

Nimatullah Barakzai, a representative of Kabul Municipality, told Pajhwok Afghan News that their monitoring teams regularly examined factors that contributed to air pollution and checked their filters. There are 34 such factories like steel mills and gypsum production plants that need regular inspection, Barakzai added.

However, Doctor Mohammad Hassan Ghiasi, planning and policy head at the Public Health Ministry, said the ministry annually registers 2,287 fatalities related to the air pollution in Kabul city.

aw/ma