Ateeque Ahmad

Noise Pollution and Human Health: A Case Study of Municipal Corporation of Delhi:

Noise pollution, an urban territorial phenomenon, is assuming serious proportions in Delhi, the third largest urban centre of India. The frequency and intensity of pollution has been increasing day by day. The present study reviews the data on sources, intensity and health implications of pollutants collected through household survey using questionnaires from two contrasting density areas; one from high-density area and another from low-density area. The analysis reveals that tremendous increase in population, industrial activities, unchecked growth in vehicular traffic and rapidly changing life style are the major factors that have created and aggravated the problem of pollution in the study area. The major health implications include annoyance, disturbance in sleep, interference with communication and other harmful effects. With the help of regression analysis, the cause and effect relationship between the intensity of pollution and occurrence of diseases among sampled households of Delhi has been established by this study. Some suggestions such as land use and transportation planning are also given in this paper for mitigating and managing the noise pollution problem in the sustainable urban development perspectives.

Indoor air pollution and self‐reported diseases – a case study of NCT of Delhi

UNLABELLED People in modern societies often spend 80-90% of their time in indoor environments. It is, therefore, imperative to analyze indoor air quality (IAQ) and its determinants and to consider the contribution of IAQ to possible health outcomes at the household level. Based on empirical data collected from 5949 households from 35 wards of Delhi, it can be summarized that higher proportions of residents live in degraded indoor environmental conditions. The highest risks to health were attached to use of traditional fuels (64%), lack of a kitchen (59%), exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) (55%), and poor ventilation (55%). Acute respiratory infections (43%) were identified as one of the most prevalent health problems confronted by residents and are strongly associated with use of traditional fuels (adjusted OR 2.7, 95% CI 2.3-3.1). Asthma shows a significant relationship with the use of traditional fuels (adjusted OR 3.8, 95% CI 3.4-4.3), exposure to ETS (adjusted OR 2.5, 95% CI 2.2-2.7), and poor ventilation (adjusted OR 1.26, 95% CI 1.13-1.41). Lung cancer (adjusted OR 1.54, 95% CI 1.38-1.71) and cardiovascular diseases (adjusted OR 2.25, 95% CI 2.01-2.53) also show a strong relationship with ETS exposure. More research is needed. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS The present study can help to create new insights in understanding the gravity of indoor air quality problems in Delhi and can therefore provide interesting material to social scientists, public health officers, planners, and decision makers. The information can be utilized to help formulate comprehensive policies and planning with a humanistic approach for proper urban indoor environments that will be applicable at all administrative levels, viz. local, national, and international, and will also provide an important background for additional research in this area.

Relationship between Housing and Health: A Cross-Sectional Study of an Urban Centre of India

Poor housing is an important public health risk worldwide. Addressing this issue offers an opportunity to highlight a vital social determinant of health. This study aimed to evaluate housing conditions and their potential health consequences in three different zones of National Capital Territory of Delhi, India. A cross-sectional design used for data collection from random sample of 1896 households through door to door survey method was adopted for this study. It is hypothesised that housing conditions and health outcomes vary in different parts of the city according to their geographical location, and historical background of development. A trend of overcrowded housing condition was reported by nearly 65% of the respondents in city zone, while the respective percentage for Najafgarh and Shahdara was 35% and 46%. Regression analysis of household level data controlling individual socio-economic and demographic covariates indicates, respiratory infections were the main health outcomes (p<0.006) and attached to overcrowding; ARI (OR 1.62, CI 1.42–1.84), tuberculosis (OR 1.26, CI 1.11–1.44) and asthma (OR 1.17, C.I 1.03–1.33). The study concludes that a uniform approach cannot solve the problem. A combination of programmes and policies including implementation of housing codes, renovation work, and generating awareness among the dwellers can lead to a better health.

Temporal variation in risk factors and prevalence rate of depression in urban population: does the urban environment play a significant role?

Urban environment has now been recognized as significant risk factor of depression; however, there remains a gap in the literature regarding specific stressors associated with urbanization. Therefore, the present study is designated to examine the strength of association between urban environment and depression in temporal manner, and to identify significant risk factors. A household survey based on a questionnaire was conducted in 2003 and 2013, covering 1326 and 1965 households, respectively, from 12 wards of Delhi, India, to procure household-level data. Prevalence of depression was measured using the Centre for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. The individual response rate within participating households was 88.3% in 2003, while it was 82.7% in 2013. During the period of study, the percentage of depressed people increased from 30.9% (2003) to 33.4% (2013). At the univariate level, significant confounders that were associated with depression were being female, unmarried and underemployed. The risk of being depressed due to inaccessibility to basic facilities reduced by − 1.5%, while fear of crime and reducing social support recorded a phenomenal increase of 31.1% and 14.4%, respectively, during the period of study. Within domain analysis, after adjusting for confounding factors, indoor noise pollution (OR 3.04, p < 0.001), overcrowding (OR 2.35, p < 0.001), increasing crime (OR 1.72, p < 0.001), less supportive neighbours (OR 1.16, p < 0.001) and lacking park/playground (OR 1.12, p < 0.001) remained significantly associated with being depressed. This study confirms an association between the urban environment and depression across a range of domains. This study highlights the need to intervene on both physical and social features of urban centres to promote mental well-being.

Impact analysis of urbanization on rural livelihood – an empirical study of an urban centre of Delhi, India

Urbanization, one of the most pressing global issues, with all of its concomitant consequences, is resulting in greater attention among planners and policy makers today than ever before. The present study intends to probe into the subject of urbanization with a specific focus on Delhi, and analysis of the same in the context of changing agricultural land use pattern and rural livelihood. A cross-sectional design was used for data collection from a random sample of 896 farming households. The analysis depicts that during 1951–2001, the urban area of Delhi expanded from 195.8 km2 to 924.6 km2, and the urban population increased from 0.1 to 2.3 million. Information at the household level shows that nearly 63% of the sampled household shifted their occupation from agriculture to non-agriculture, while almost 50% of the respondents reported change in cropping patterns, i.e. food grain versus vegetables, fruits and flowers. Through the application of the multiple linear regression model, the study reveals that residential complexes (p < 0.01) and household industries (p < 0.05) have a positive significant bearing on agricultural land use patterns. The development of transportation networks, orchards and nurseries, and brick kiln are shown to have an insignificant (p > 0.05) correlation. Integrated planning for rural and urban areas may be key for balanced and sustainable urban development of Delhi.

Using analytic hierarchy process with GIS for Dengue risk mapping in Kolkata Municipal Corporation, West Bengal, India

Detecting and mapping of Dengue risk areas is a complex, tiring, multifaceted and protracted task requiring evaluation of many criteria. It is not sure that always one single factor is liable for Dengue Fever transmission in all areas, but it differs with changing geographical location. This paper presents the application of analytic hierarchy process alongside with geospatial analysis for detecting Dengue risk areas in Kolkata Municipal Corporation by integrating environmental parameters. It employs two stage analyses synergistically to form a Spatial Decision Support System. The first stage analysis makes use of the thematic layers in Geographical Information System in combination with environmental factors leading to support the second stage analysis using the analytic hierarchy process as a tool. Moreover, weighted overlay analysis was used for detecting potential risk areas. The research result shows that the calculated weights of criteria are within the range of Consistency Ratio being > 0.1. The chosen decision criteria are consistent because the calculated Consistency Ratio is 0.0551 which is < 0.1 and considered as acceptable for decision making. The most influential factors are found the Household Density, Water Logged Areas, Land Surface Temperature, Population Density, Land Elevation and Land Use Land Cover. The present study shows that the spatial relationship can help in understanding the pattern and distribution of dengue outbreak and zonation of potential risk areas.

Groundwater Quality Assessment of Firozabad City (India) - A Physico-Chemical Analysis

This paper assesses the status of ground water quality in Firozabad city. The city is a hub of glass bangle and glassware industries. The main components of the study included a field sampling, analysis of groundwater pol- lution. Therefore water samples were collected from thee different sites during July to December 2012. The aim was to determine the water quality by studying the physical parameters including temperature and electrical conductivity and chemical parameters which include pH, alkalinity, total hardness, chloride, calcium, magnesium and total dissolved solids as well as microbiological parameter include total coliform using standard procedure and the results of this analysis were compared with the water quality standards of WHO and IS and interrelationship between the variables were analyzed through linear correlation method which explicitly express that the water of the city is not appropriate to be used for drinking consumption.

Hierarchy of Rural Settlements: A Strategy for Balanced Regional Development in Aligarh District

Finding out the hierarchy of settlement is considered as an important step for providing balanced regional development to any area. The present study focuses on the identification of settlement hierarchy on the basis of threshold of functions and to analyze the relationship between population and centrality score of rural service centres or central places for achieving balanced regional development. For this study secondary data pertaining to the socio-economic facilities or services has been collected for each rural settlements of the Aligarh District. To identify the hierarchy of rural settlements, Median Population Threshold (MPT) has been calculated by using Reed Muench Method. Spacing of rural settlements has been calculated using Mathers model of Mean Spacing. The results shows that out of 1180 inhabited rural settlements found in Aligarh district only 268 rural settlements lie in the category of rural service centre or central place which are further categories under six hierarchic level.