New Delhi, June 2 -- Chandrasekhar Mukherjee, in his mid-thirties, was used to donating blood regularly till 2022. All that came to an end as he was diagnosed with a slew of diseases led by respiratory distress. Mukherjee feels, and doctors admit, that the dust bowl of Durgapur is responsible for his current situation.

Prithvi Raj, a young doctor, has come to Durgapur recently and installed an air filter in his residence. The filter, meant to function for at least six months, has turned slate black from milk white within three months. Prithvi Raj has had to procure a new one.

Middle-aged social activist Kabi Ghosh, born and brought up in Durgapur, has his work cut out every day when he enters his ground floor organisation office in up...