KABUL, Apr 15 (IPS/IFEJ) - On any given day, a pall of smog and dust hangs over Kabul’s streets. It clings to the face, burns the eyes, and stains the hands. It bathes the cars, often stuck bumper-to-bumper in traffic, and occludes the view of the distant mountains.
“My friends and I prefer to stay indoors whenever we meet,” says Kabul resident Habib Zahori, “because we can’t stand the air outside.”
The biggest killer in Kabul may not be the Taliban, but air pollution. Experts consider Kabul to be one of the most polluted cities in the world, and the scale of the problem has prompted a widespread government campaign.
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KABUL, Aug 14 (IPS) - It used to take Esmazari 15 minutes to cross town in his faded mustard Corolla. But the police shutdown of nearly half of Kabul’s major arteries, in response to a spate of suicide bombings that ripped across the capital city in recent months, means that today Esmazari’s taxi spends a full hour to make the same trip.
“My business has plummeted because of all these blocked roads,” says the taxi driver, who like many Afghans goes by only one name. “The situation is very bad. The whole city centre is clogged and full of checkpoints.”
The state of high alert following a summer of rising insurgent activity is wearing on Kabul citizens, say observers and residents. Many blame the increased checkpoints and closed roads for falling business, yet at the same time some residents say that the heightened security does not make them feel safe.
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