Saharanpur wakes up to Himalayas, visible from town after 30 years as AQI dips below 50

MEERUT: For the first time in over three decades, snow-capped peaks of Gangotri became visible from Saharanpur as Air Quality Index (AQI) in the UP town dipped below 50.

For an entire generation in Saharanpur that grew up listening to stories from elders that they used to see the Himalayas from the dusty mofussil, it was a pleasant surprise for many as snow-laden peaks were visible once again. Stunned residents took to social media to express their joy, sharing pictures of the mountains.

Dushyant Kumar, an income tax inspector who along with his wife Nidhi Saini shared photos of the ranges taken from their terrace, said, “I was amazed.”

The photos soon went viral on Twitter after they were shared by Ramesh Pandey, an Indian Forest Service officer and secretary of UP State Biodiversity Board. “The mountains that were visible were peaks of Bandarpunch and Gangotri in the inner Himalayas. I shared the photos because I have never witnessed such a sight in Saharanpur and I was posted there for a long time,” he told TOI.

V K Jain, forest conservator, Saharanpur division, said it was after more than three decades there was such a spectacle. “These are the same mountains which can otherwise be seen from Mussoorie.”

Officials said the aerial distance between the peaks and Saharanpur was about 200 km. “It was truly a rare sight. People in Saharanpur haven’t had such a clear view of snow-capped peaks in the past decades,” said Saharanpur divisional commissioner Sanjay Kumar.

S R Maurya, Saharanpur regional officer, UP Pollution Control Board, said Saharanpur does not have an automatic AQI station in place. “A manual report is also not available since offices are closed. But the nearest AQI station at Muzaffarnagar has recorded an AQI of less than 50. Generally, Muzaffarnagar and Saharanpur have similar AQIs, so it is estimated that Saharanpur’s AQI, too, must be below 50. In the past, AQI here has been recorded in the ‘very poor’ category of 300.”

It’s not just Saharanpur which is enjoying clean air the month-long lockdown has brought. Earlier, people in Jalandhar were able to see the Dhauladhar ranges, at a distance of over 200 km, for the first time in several decades.

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