Mumbai has been engulfed by a blanket of poor air as winter sets in, raising worries over the impact of elevated pollution levels to public health.
As concerns rise, the civic body Brihanmumbai Municipal Corp. told NDTV that it is ramping up measures to combat sources of pollutants in the city, ranging from construction activities to vehicular movements.
Notices have been served to 97 builders and 27 government contractors to adhere to the dust mitigation norms or face action, according to the city's Assistant Municipal Commissioner Kiran Dighavkar.
Last week, the civic body issued a new set of guidelines for the mitigation of air pollution in Mumbai and gave builders and contractors one month to acquire sprinklers and fogging machines at construction sites.
“We have issued (identically worded) letters to all of them to follow (dust mitigation and other anti-pollution) guidelines, failing which necessary actions will be initiated,” Dighavkar said, reported PTI.
Action On Debris-Carrying Vehicles
The BMC has also imposed a penalty of Rs 20,000 on vehicles like trucks found without proper tonneau covering, having dirty tyres, and spreading dust while carrying construction debris.
"We have urged various authorities to take action against these vehicles, including deputy commissioners of police and traffic division and RTO," Dighavkar told NDTV.
He also warned that authorities may cancel vehicle registrations upon repeated violations.
The body will also prevent the illegal dumping of construction debris.
Washing Roads
The Mumbai civic body has also started washing the roads in the city. About 650 km of roads with the width of more than 60-feet along with the footpaths will be washed with water "on a regular basis", it said in a release on Friday.
Ward officers will select the roads with heavy traffic for washing and as many as 121 tankers will be deployed for this purpose.
Recycled water or water from local sources like lakes, ponds, wells and borewells will be used for road washing. The roads and footpaths will be swept before being sprayed with water.
The BMC is also in the process of setting up a command and control centre to collect data using sensor-based air quality index monitoring devices, PTI reported on Thursday.
Devices will be installed in various areas of the metropolis for 'hyper local' information.
Earlier this week, Maharashtra Minister Deepak Kesarkar, who is also the guardian minister of Mumbai district, told reporters that six technologies, including vehicle-mounted air filters, have been identified for reducing air pollution in the financial capital.
As many as 350 buses of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport undertaking will be fitted with vehicle-mounted filters for "removal of impurities" from dust and other particles, Kesarkar said.
The overall AQI in Mumbai was recorded at 220 (moderate) on Friday evening, according to data from the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research.
In its bulletin, SAFAR-India said the air quality is likely to remain in the 'Moderate' category until Nov. 5. Over the week, the air quality was 'poor'.
(With inputs from PTI)
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