A large number of city residents blamed the indiscriminate felling of trees over the past decades as one of the primary reasons behind the surge in the Air Quality Index (AQI), which continued to remain dangerously high on Saturday. The AQI has consistently remained high due to stubble burning, even as hospitals report an increase in patient numbers because of the presence of toxins like PM2.5 and PM10 in the breathable air. On Saturday evening, the Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board (MPPCB) reported high AQI levels at key locations: Idgah Hills at 253, Paryavaran Parisar at 292, and TT Nagar at 242.The Pioneer spoke to people at a number of locations in the city to understand how the spike in air pollution was affecting them."My cough wont subside; something is definitely wrong as it just refuses to go," says Rishikesh, a vegetable vendor. A 60-year-old man eating Golgappas at a nearby stall says, "Eating habits are such that younger people cant handle the change in the weather. In our time, when we were young, there was nothing like this."The general store owner at Chinar Fortune City, Mahesh, says, "There is no greenery left, so how can the air be clean? When we go out on the road, it feels like we are breathing in coal." His son, Shubham, says that the burning of stubble by farmers is causing this problem. The governments order to stop burning stubble is correct, but it came too late. It should have been given much earlier. Saurabh, who works at a BPO, says that the increase in AQI is normal, and everything will be fine in a few days.Sanjeev Malviya, a farmer by profession, says, "We are following the governments orders, and whatever the government decides next, we will follow."

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