WHO pollution report: Patna not as bad as mentioned, says Sushil Kumar Modi

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi on Wednesday differed from the recent report of the World Health Organisation (WHO) that ranked Patna the fifth most polluted city in the world.

The situation in Patna is not so bad as it has been mentioned in the WHO report, he said.

"There is a difference between the data given by World Health Organisation and the data furnished by the State Pollution Control Board," Modi said.

The WHO says it got data from the Central Pollution Control Board which sources its data from the State Pollution Control Board, Modi said.

"The situation of air pollution in Patna is challenging but there is no need to panic," Modi said while addressing a workshop on air pollution organised by the Bihar State Disaster Management Authority here.

Modi, who also holds the portfolio of Environment and Forest Department, did not elaborate on the data of the WHO and the State Pollution Control Board.

Stating that air pollution has increased in cities situated along rivers such as Varanasi, Kanpur and Patna, Modi said siltation in the Ganga has turned a large area into a riverine area that causes dust in air in huge volume causing the air of the cities polluted.

In a recent report, the WHO said India had 14 14 out of the world's 20 most polluted cities.