Jharkhand: Villagers in Hazaribagh living in gas chamber for years

Hazaribagh (Jharkhand) [India], Apr 30 (ANI): Villages in the outskirts of Hazaribagh have been living in a gas chamber due to the extremely polluted environment caused by coal mining. The situation is alarming due to a huge amount of dust and toxic gases emitting from the mines. As per the dwellers of the area, the situation has become so bad that it is leading to deaths.
Expressing his grief, a villager Baldev told ANI, "Pollution is affecting our life to a great extent. People of all age groups are having regular respiratory uneasiness and several other diseases. We can not sleep properly."
Another person claimed that there are a lot of patients in each an every village in the area. Anguished people further said that coal-laden trucks pass through villages which causes severe pollution. 
Talking on the issue, notable environmentalist and Padma Shri awardee Bulu Imam said, "If you enter in Hazaribagh, you will have health-related problems. Hazaribagh's environment is polluted. Once it was a tourist place but now it has become a disaster. It is affecting human life at large scale."
He put all blame to careless development programs in the district. "We want to make Hazaribagh as developed as Delhi is, so it will cost. Now Hazaribagh has become like Delhi," he further added.
In the air of Hazaribagh, it is Carbon Monoxide (CO) which is higher than the prescribed level. On Tuesday Hazaribagh Air Quality Index read Carbon Monoxide (CO) levels as 1090 micrograms per cubic meter. Breathing CO can cause headache, dizziness, vomiting, and nausea. If CO levels are high enough, one may become unconscious or die. (ANI)