Dhaka: Road dust has become the biggest source of pollution in the capital, especially during the dry season, for various unplanned construction works, posing a severe health menace to city dwellers, say experts.

According to them, the air pollution originating from construction work-related processes like concrete crushing, cement batching and road stone plants, is destroying the environment and clean air, depriving the city dwellers of breathing in fresh air.

Many mega development projects like Malibagh-Moghbazar Flyover project and metro rail project, road repair works and construction works are going on in the city generating huge dust every day.

Jahangir Kabir, who works in a private firm at city's Shantinagar, said he has to go to different offices in the city on official purposes every day, but he gets exposed to dust severely when he travels through adjoining Malibagh-Moghbazar Flyover areas. ‘I've to go through the dust-prone areas to save time in this chaotic city,’ he told UNB.

Moshiur Rahman, a High Court employee, said he is exposed to dust every day as he goes to his office by rickshaw and frequently suffers from allergic problems for dust pollution. ‘I use mask to avoid dust, but that's not enough,’ he said.

Like Kabir and Rahman, thousands of city dwellers are exposed to dust pollution as the authorities concerned have taken no measure to check it as the focus is always on vehicular pollution.

Mahfuzur Rahman Bhuiyan, a former national consultant of World Health Organisation, said the number of patients suffering from respiratory diseases such as emphysema, bronchitis and asthma have increased in the city due to the growing dust pollution. ‘As concentration of dust particles in air is on the rise day by day, most city dwellers are suffering common cold and cough problems,’ he said.

Mahfuz, grants manager of the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK), said people are being exposed to dust when they go to office or works. ‘So, they can't concentrate on their works.’

As dust generates wax in human ears, he said, patients of ear-infection is also increasing in the city.

He said airborne dust from construction sites is a problem for a number of reasons as it creates health hazards, particularly for those suffering from respiratory problems, causes environmental degradation, including air and water pollution, and creates problems.

Citing a WHO study, general secretary of Bangladesh Poribesh Andolan (Bapa) Dr Abdul Matin said capital Dhaka was one of the most air-polluted cities in the world in 2012 and he observed that air pollution has increased in recent days.

Dhaka city is a storehouse of air pollution where there is no guideline to thwart it, he said, adding that dust has been contributing to rapid rise of lung diseases and allergy among city dwellers here.  

Former ADB consultant and urban planner Khondker Neaz Rahman said the dust contains fly-ash, which comes from construction sites, is very harmful to human health.

He suggested construction firms working in the capital to take necessary measures to minimise dust. Although airborne dust has been emerging as a severe threat to the city dwellers, the Department of Environment (DoE) is yet to announce any guideline to check it, he said.

DoE director general M Raisul Alam Mondal said the DoE does not have any guideline to check dust, but it has been working sincerely to minimise air pollution in the country.