Dust from construction works: BMC to install air purifiers at 5 locations
In its ongoing ‘Death by Breath’ series, The Indian Express has also shed light on the burgeoning Air Quality Index (AQI) levels amidst unmonitored construction works.
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Responding to questions on the command-and-control centre, civic officials from BMC’s environment department said that the information will be garnered through the BMC’s sensor based AQI monitoring devices, which the BMC plans to install in several pockets to record hyperlocal data. (Express Photo: Amit Chakravarty) As the city continues to reel under depleting air quality, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is slated to install air purifiers across five locations — including Jogeshwari’s JVLR junction, Chembur, Mulund, BKC and Dahisar— wherein a slew of construction projects are unfolding.
According to the data furnished in the Mumbai Air Pollution Mitigation Plan (MAPMP) document, the key factor contributing to pollution in Mumbai is the dust arising from the construction and demolition work on the string of ongoing projects of the megapolis.
In its ongoing ‘Death by Breath’ series, The Indian Express has also shed light on the burgeoning Air Quality Index (AQI) levels amidst unmonitored construction works.
Of the five locations where the BMC has charted plans to install the monitors, three spots — Mulund, Chembur and BKC — recorded poor air quality on Thursday, with AQI ranging between 200 – 300.
While the overall AQI in Mumbai touched 169, CPCB data showed that the worst air quality was recorded in Colaba in the island city where the AQI stood at 230, followed by Sion (224), Mulund (220), Chembur (217), Malad (203) and Bandra East (201). On Thursday morning, an AQI of 201 was registered in BKC.
The civic body’s decision to install these monitors came after Pankaj Yadav, former corporator from BJP wrote a letter to Guardian Minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha highlighting the air pollution woes in the junction near Jogeshwari’s HBT trauma care hospital in August.
Yadav told The Indian Express, “There are several construction projects including road works, SRA development etc ongoing near Jogeshwari’s HBT trauma care hospital… I wrote to the guardian minister, Lodha, who took cognisance of my complaint and put the issue before the BMC in August, this year.”
According to Yadav, at Jogeshwari’s JVLR junction, the BMC has given the nod for the installation of two air purifiers and one monitoring system.
Data procured from the civic body showed that the project — which comprises installation and maintenance of systems across five locations — has been pegged at an approximate cost of Rs 10 crore.
While the city currently has 21 Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations (CAAQMS) in the city, as shown in the CPCB dashboard, the BMC is set to expand its Air Quality monitoring stations by installing sensor based monitoring units — on Thursday, city guardian minister Deepak Kesarkar said that six different air purifiers will be installed near Bhakti Park, SK Patil Garden in Sion, Byculla Zoo, and Diamond Garden in Chembur.
The move comes along the heels of the publication of The Indian Express’ “Death by Breath” series.
Meanwhile, he had also announced the civic body is chalking plans to set up a command-and-control centre for monitoring the AQI to send out alerts and advisories to residents on days when “poor” or “very poor” air quality is registered on the monitoring systems.
Responding to questions on the command-and-control centre, civic officials from BMC’s environment department said that the information will be garnered through the BMC’s sensor based AQI monitoring devices, which the BMC plans to install in several pockets to record hyperlocal data.
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