Health issues make residents want to leave Cantt

A hub of commercial activity,

Lucknow Cantonment

has seen a sharp rise in pollution and traffic chaos. With the poor quality of air affecting health of residents, many of them are looking for cleaner localities to move to.

Homemaker Mini Gandhi said, “My friend's daughter is asthmatic and has had to miss school on multiple occasions in the past year, thanks to the dust in the environment.“ RK Singh's elderly parents have also suffered because of the dust caused by pollution. “But the problem is yet to draw the attention of Rita Bahuguna Joshi, the sitting MLA,“ said Shikha Srivastava, a homemaker in Jai Prakash Nagar. Bad roads coupled with poor sewerage is the reason for seasonal infections. “If one takes ill, the entire family will fall sick by turns. The air is so densely populated with microbes that immunity is barely able to stand it,“ said a resident. “My brothers stay in Niralanagar and Gomtinagar and it is a routine for us to drop my mother to their homes during monsoon because of waterlogging,“ said

Ashok Sinha

of Gitapalli Colony. “My daughter took ill very frequently. The moment I realised cleanliness was the reason, I left the place in 2013,“ said

Priti Singh

, who moved from Almabagh to

Vikasnagar

.

“The perception is that Cantonment will be clean and green but it is limited to areas controlled by Lucknow Cantonment Development Board. Civilian areas have bad roads, garbage heaps, stray animals and encroachment,“ said Ashish Singh of Chandernagar.The approach road to Lokbandhu Raj Narain Government Hospital nearby is a disaster. “A pregnant woman heading to the hospital can have a forced delivery because of the bumpy ride,“ said a government doctor.

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