Permissible level of PM10 (fine particulate matter): 50 micrograms per cubic metre of air

Beijing PM10 value: 106 micrograms

Calcutta PM10 value: 153 micrograms

Conclusion: World record holder Haile Gebrselassie has opted out of the marathon and decided to run the 10,000 metres in Beijing on pollution grounds, but he would think thrice before putting on his running shoes in Calcutta.

Marathon man Gebrselassie announced on Monday that he could not risk running 42 km through the foul air of Beijing for fear of aggravating his asthmatic condition. He would, instead, run the 10,000 metres in the Olympics.

While the two communist capitals are bound by foul fumes, the key pollution count in Calcutta is far higher than that in Beijing. Calcutta’s PM10 value — particulate matter less or equal to 10 microns, and, therefore, the particulate matter that easily enters the respiratory tract — is 153 against Beijing’s 106, according to a World Bank report published in 2006.

“It is not advisable for an asthma patient to run through the polluted roads of Calcutta. The vehicular pollution is bound to aggravate the asthmatic condition and cause an acute breathing problem,” said cadio-thoracic specialist Plabon Mukhopadhyay.

But try telling that to Subhas Chakraborty. The transport minister on Monday stood up in the Assembly and declared that Calcutta is “the least polluted among the five metro cities” and vehicular emission contributes to “around 30 per cent” of the city’s air pollution.

Check your figures, Mr Chakraborty. In the World Bank report of 2006, Calcutta (153 micrograms) was second only to Delhi (187 micrograms) among metros in terms of air pollution. Mumbai was a distant third, at 79 micrograms, with Chennai the cleanest at 46 micrograms.

Data from the Central Pollution Control Board confirm that Calcutta is only marginally less than Delhi in terms of particulate pollution.

As for the minister’s second claim, a high court-appointed expert committee in 2000 blamed vehicular emission for 50 per cent of the city’s overall pollution.

“Today, vehicular pollution accounts for at least 60 per cent of the city’s foul air,” said environment activist Subhas Dutta.