Nagpur: Chandrapur is one of the most polluted cities in the country and now this is causing respiratory ailments among the residents of the district. Data provided by the civil surgeon shows that every year over 10,000 people fall ill due to respiratory ailments. Hundreds are suffering from pulmonary tuberculosis and in last five years over 400 people have died. You might expect the state to take steps to reduce pollution. However, the government is increasing the generation capacity of the 2,340 Chandrapur Super Thermal Power Station (CSTPS) by another 1,000MW, which will increase pollution further. The ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) had banned new industries in and around the city due to high pollution level. Strangely, neither MoEF nor Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) took any objection when Mahagenco decided to increase the capacity of its plant. A social organization Numbeo recently conducted a survey in Chandrapur. As many as 93.75% residents said that the pollution level was very high. As per World Health Organization (WHO) data, the level of PM10 (particulate matter) was 174, which is extremely high. Rajesh Bele, who had obtained this data under Right to Information (RTI) Act, said the actual number of persons suffering from respiratory ailments and tuberculosis was far higher than that reflected in government data. "Upper and middle class persons do not go to government hospitals. Pollution hits the rich and poor alike and hence if data from private clinics is added to the data the numbers may double," he said. Social activist Anil Wadpalliwar, who has filed a PIL in Nagpur bench of Bombay high court over poor quality of coal being used by Mahagenco, said that the alarming level of pollution in Chandrapur was due to high ash content in coal. Wadpalliwar pointed out that Nagpur, especially the northern part of the city, would face the same fate when all the three 660MW units of Koradi expansion project start generation. "Already the pollution level in north Nagpur, Koradi and nearby areas is quite high," he said. "I will file a police complaint against Mahagenco if it does not take concrete steps to reduce pollution within a month," he said.