Pollution matters: India has two of the top 10 world's most polluted spots. Needs urgent environmental intervention to prevent pollution-related ailments

By Syed Akbar

India has two of the 10 world's worst polluted spots on the Earth. Blacksmith
Institute, a US-based environment protection agency, has listed 10 worst
polluted spots on the Earth, after a thorough environment impact study
around the world.
Vapi in Gujarat and Sukhinda valley in Orissa occupy the fourth and the fifth
slots in the world's 10 worst polluted spots. At stake are over 27 lakh
lives.
Ranipet, a tannery centre in Tamil Nadu, figures in the BBC's list of the
world's 25 worst polluted spots.
Chemical and heavy metal pollution is quite rampant in Vapi while
hexavalent chromium is causing heavy damage to the atmosphere in
Sukhinda valley.

And the problematic areas...

The Central Pollution Control Board has identified as many as 24 problem
areas where pollution levels are very high.
They are: Singrauli, Kala Amb, Parwanoo, Mandi Gobindgarh, Vapi,
Ankleshwar, Chembur, Tarapur, Nagda-Ratlam, Pali, Jodhpur, Korba,
Najafgarh Basin, Manali, North Arcot, Bhadravathi, Visakapatnam,
Patancheru-Bollaram (Hyderabad), Greater Cochin, Durgapur, Howrah,
Dhanbad and Angul-Talcher.