Hazard: Locals continue to suffer from pollen induced allergies
Wajahat Shabir
Srinagar: Despite thousands of Russian poplar trees being chopped off last year, residents across Kashmir Valley are facing yet another seasonal health hazard as the pollen and seeds shed from these trees are making lives of people miserable. Notably, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court had passed an order in 2018 to cut down the poplar trees across the valley.
The pollen allergy is a widespread phenomenon across many districts of Kashmir as residents frequently visit hospitals complaining pollen allergy.
Usually, pollen allergies are quite common witnessed in the spring season as the allergy induced by the pollen of the popular varieties imported from Russia, Australia, and the US has turned into a perennial health hazard in Srinagar and other major towns, particularly Baramulla and Kupwara, where thousands of poplars line up the highway stretches.
“The pollen allergy has become quite normal every year in Kashmir making citizens suffer be it an old age person or teenagers or children. The pollen in the air in the form of cotton fluff is proving hazardous to the health,” said Adil Mir.
Mushtaq Ahmed, another resident said that every year he has to face the problem as his two kids are allergic to the pollen spread from these poplar trees.
“The government needs to take more steps as we face such kind of issues every year. It becomes quite irritating,” he added.
Irfan Mir, a student said, “we cannot move outside our houses without wearing a mask. It becomes quite difficult while driving a two wheeler”.
“The most common symptoms of the pollen allergy are nasal irritation or burning, watery eyes coupled with redness and skin rashes,” said a Doctor, who has been attending to scores of children with pollen allergy symptoms these days at a private clinic.
The doctors in the valley every now and then advice citizens to wear masks and glasses to avoid direct contact with the pollen. Experts say that the common symptoms of the pollen-induced allergy also include runny nose, which may further exacerbate if proper medical advice is not sought by the affected persons.
In 2015, the health hazard had caught the attention of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, which had in May that year passed directions banning the plantation and trade of pollen-producing exotic varieties of poplar across the Kashmir valley, particularly the Russian poplar.
Subsequently, the divisional administration had issued orders for cutting down the Russian poplars. Though scores of poplar trees across the Valley has been cut down, experts have identified ‘Populus deltoides’, a female variety of the exotic poplar, which produces pollen with a lot of cottons fluff and is responsible for the allergy.
KV Correspondent
