BREAKING NEWS
Despite court orders, axing of Russian poplars stayed midway
Hospitals across the Kashmir Valley are recording a sudden and sharp spike in the number of patients, especially children, with respiratory diseases even as officials blaming the ‘Russian’ poplars for the ‘menace’.
According to an official in the directorate of health services, there has been a sharp rise in the number of patients at district and sub-district hospitals who complain of sore throat, cold, cough and fever.
While ordinary people in Kashmir are blaming the Russian poplars for causing respiratory diseases during May and June, doctors say the common cause of such illnesses is pollen shed by various plants, including poplar trees.
“Researches have concluded that the seeds shed by Russian poplars which are covered in cotton do not cause allergy. It is the pollen which is not visible to the naked eye that causes allergy,” Dr Aadil, who works at SMHS hospital, told Brighter Kashmir.
In 2015, the Jammu & Kashmir High Court, following a petition by a Srinagar resident, had ordered the government to chop all Russian poplars in the Valley. However, while the order was initially implemented with much enthusiasm, it was later shelved due to unknown reasons.
A 2017 study by the Government Medical College, Srinagar found the pollen of Russian poplars causes allergic reactions in less than 20 percent of the population.
“Compared to this, pollen from common grass is likely to cause allergic reactions in 73.5%, pollen from pine in 62.7% of the population, and pollen from chinar trees in 60% of the population. The study found that the biggest causative agent for respiratory diseases, in fact, is dust that can affect 92.7% of the population,” a report in Indian Express said.
“It is a common knowledge that pollen seed of Poplars is adversely affecting health of general public, mostly of elderly people and children. The pollen seed of these trees has given rise to chest diseases in Kashmir, which can become life threatening for them,” the court had noted, citing Article 21, that “The right to life can become meaningful, only if a person is healthy.”
Despite court orders, axing of Russian poplars stayed midway
Hospitals across the Kashmir Valley are recording a sudden and sharp spike in the number of patients, especially children, with respiratory diseases even as officials blaming the ‘Russian’ poplars for the ‘menace’.
According to an official in the directorate of health services, there has been a sharp rise in the number of patients at district and sub-district hospitals who complain of sore throat, cold, cough and fever.
While ordinary people in Kashmir are blaming the Russian poplars for causing respiratory diseases during May and June, doctors say the common cause of such illnesses is pollen shed by various plants, including poplar trees.
“Researches have concluded that the seeds shed by Russian poplars which are covered in cotton do not cause allergy. It is the pollen which is not visible to the naked eye that causes allergy,” Dr Aadil, who works at SMHS hospital, told Brighter Kashmir.
In 2015, the Jammu & Kashmir High Court, following a petition by a Srinagar resident, had ordered the government to chop all Russian poplars in the Valley. However, while the order was initially implemented with much enthusiasm, it was later shelved due to unknown reasons.
A 2017 study by the Government Medical College, Srinagar found the pollen of Russian poplars causes allergic reactions in less than 20 percent of the population.
“Compared to this, pollen from common grass is likely to cause allergic reactions in 73.5%, pollen from pine in 62.7% of the population, and pollen from chinar trees in 60% of the population. The study found that the biggest causative agent for respiratory diseases, in fact, is dust that can affect 92.7% of the population,” a report in Indian Express said.
“It is a common knowledge that pollen seed of Poplars is adversely affecting health of general public, mostly of elderly people and children. The pollen seed of these trees has given rise to chest diseases in Kashmir, which can become life threatening for them,” the court had noted, citing Article 21, that “The right to life can become meaningful, only if a person is healthy.”
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