Repair Roads Immediately, Pollution Board Tells BMC & PWD

Bhopal: As the rains seem to have brought down the air quality index (AQI) in Bhopal city for now, the implementation of measures, spelled out following a meeting convened by the divisional commissioner after the AQI soared beyond 300, is in full swing.Regional officer, MP Pollution Control Board (MPPCB), Brajesh Sharma, told TOI, “Bhopal is among the cities included under the National Clean Air Programme. We have a committee led by the divisional commissioner for micro-planning to keep the air pollution under control. When the AQI rose, the divisional commissioner had convened a meeting comprising officials of the concerned departments and agencies like the BMC, PWD, traffic police, food department and RTO to decide on the measures to curb the AQI. The measures spelled out following the meeting are being implemented, though the rains over past couple of days have drastically reduced the air pollution and brought it to normal level.”

Sharma further said that dust was the number one cause of air pollution followed by vehicular emissions and burning of garbage, concluded a detailed study carried out by ARAI Pune to find the source of air pollution in the city.The BMC had deployed more sweeping machines and foggers on the roads to clear the dust as the vehicular movement suspends dust particles in the air becoming a source of pollution, he said while adding that the BMC and PWD were also asked to bring the roads in order so that pollution by air-borne dust is reduced. Besides, BMC was also asked to ensure netting at the construction sites so that solid waste like construction material and demolition debris doesn’t cause air pollution.It was also decided that strict actions should be taken against owners of vehicles without PUC (pollution under control) certificate. In the beginning, only the commercial vehicles caught without PUC were fined while private vehicle owners have been given a 15-day period to get the PUC.The district collector had convened a meeting with the petrol pump owners and asked them to provide PUC facility. He urged them to provide it for free for the vehicles that get the fuel tank full. “He also went with us for inspection of PUC facilities at seven to eight places to see if the machines were properly calibrated,” Sharma said.He further said that traditionally November has been the worst month in terms of air quality as the weather starts to get colder and the humidity gets nullified. As the earth surface starts getting cold, the particulate matter, in place of going up in the atmosphere, starts settling down towards the surface. Additionally this time, the wind velocity was also very less (less than 0.6), which also contributed to this phenomenon. As the dew starts in December, the atmosphere gets moist and the air pollution starts reducing. Till then, sprinkling of roads to let the dust settle down is the solution to curb the air pollution.When asked about the measures taken by the administration, environmental activist Subhash C Pandey said, “Since the media took up the matter in a big way after the air quality worsened in the city, some steps were taken. Like, the BMC brought some foggers for sprinkling of water but I fail to understand why the BMC should use its foggers at the construction sites. This step seemed inadequate, as the rains stopped on Wednesday morning, you could see dust again flying off the road. Besides, Adampur landfill site is virtually closed, which is adding to pollution in the city and the guidelines of MOEF for construction sites issued in 2010 are not being followed.”