Delhi pollution news: RML Hospital to open special pollution OPD; Check timings and other details here

Delhi pollution news: With Delhi's air quality deteriorating, the authorities of Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, a government hospital in the city, have decided to establish a special Out-Patient Department (OPD) for pollution-related illnesses.

"We have decided that a special OPD will run for pollution-related illnesses where comprehensive care can be given to the patients and will include a multi-departmental clinic because pollution affects multiple organs," Dr Ajay Shukla, Director of RML Hospital said as quoted by news agency ANI.

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He added that this special OPD has been made in view of the rising number of patients because of deteriorating pollution in the national capital.

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Special OPD department and timings

As per Dr Ajay, five departments including ENT, skin, respiratory tract, eye, and psychiatric departments will be there in the Special OPD. The OPD will run once a week on Monday from 2 pm to 4 pm.

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"Five departments, including ENT, skin, respiratory tract, eye, and psychiatric departments, will be there. The OPD will run on Monday afternoons from 2 pm to 4 pm...Special OPD has been made as there is almost a 30% rise in the number of patients because of pollution," he said.

Currenlty, the overall air quality in the national capital stood at 373 which is in 'very poor' category. The air quality plunged into the poor to severe category on Monday and today morning after bursting of crackers during Diwali. According to IQAir, a Swiss company that specialises in air quality monitoring, Delhi was the most polluted city in the world on Monday, followed by Lahore and Karachi in Pakistan. Mumbai and Kolkata ranked fifth and sixth among the most polluted cities in the world.

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Meanwhile, following the pollution review meeting with the officers of the Environment Department at the Delhi Secretariat, Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Monday announced that the anti-pollution measures under GRAP IV regulations will remain enforced in Delhi until the next order of the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM).

Speaking to ANI, Rai said, "Anti-pollution measures under GRAP IV regulations will remain enforced in Delhi until the next order of CAQM. Under this, BS-III petrol vehicles and BS-IV diesel vehicles will remain banned."

"All trucks, except those carrying essential goods and connected to essential services and CNG and electric trucks, will not be allowed to enter Delhi," Rai added.

The Environment Minister also spoke about the bursting of firecrackers in Delhi on Diwali and said, "There is a ban on the production, storage, and sale of firecrackers in Delhi. The firecrackers were brought to Delhi from UP and Haryana. The police of Delhi, Haryana, and UP are under the control of the BJP, and no common man can easily supply the firecrackers amid the monitoring of these three police forces. Some specific people have done this." 

(With inputs from ANI)