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Ghaziabad tops most polluted city list for second consecutive day, CPCB task force to review measures today
Ghaziabad: The air is so foul in Ghaziabad city that it continued to be the most polluted city in the country for the second consecutive day. The air quality of
Ghaziabad: The air is so foul in Ghaziabad city that it continued to be the most polluted city in the country for the second consecutive day. The air quality of the city has been in the ‘severe’ category since November 12.
Officials said local pollutants, mixed with smoke from stubble burning in Haryana and Punjab, has worsened conditions but the wind speed is likely to pick up by November 18.
The city’s air quality index (AQI), as per the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) bulletin Friday, was 471, the highest across the country, but slightly lower than Thursday’s 486.
“The wind speed picked up on Friday and was about 8-10kmph which abated pollution by a sliver. The wind speed will pick up more between November 16 and 18 and is likely to be around 20-25kmph. This will further clean up the air. However, there is no forecast of rain this week,” Kuldeep Srivastava, head, Regional Weather Forecasting Centre, New Delhi, said.
The four monitoring stations in Ghaziabad recorded an average AQI of 460 at 8pm Friday. The online ambient monitoring stations in Indirapuram, Loni, Sanjay Nagar and Vasundhara recorded AQIs of 459, 468, 446 and 464, respectively.
“The pollution has started dispersing since Friday evening. The CPCB’s task force will again hold a meeting on Saturday and review whether an extension of the ban on hot mix plants, coal-based industrial units etc is necessary. The directions of Environment Pollution (Prevention & Control) Authority (Epca) regarding closure of schools were only till November 15. However, the ban on construction activities will be in place as per Supreme Court directions,” Utsav Sharma, regional officer, UP pollution control board, said.
Pollution monitoring teams have recommended heavy penalties against construction activities over past couple of days.
The office-bearers of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India (Credai) said a construction ban will impact construction workers adversely.
“In Ghaziabad and Noida, there are as many as 100 under-construction projects which employ an approximately 20,000-strong workforce. With the ban, many of them, who are daily wagers, are finding it extremely difficult to sustain their livelihood. The ban also affects the completion of projects as developers are blamed for no fault of theirs,” Gaurav Gupta, president, Credai (Ghaziabad).
“We need to find an alternative mechanism at the earliest. At the same time, as a prudent business community, it is our duty to abide by the Supreme Court directives. We must work to find a permanent solution for pollution,” he said.
The UPPCB officials said corrective measures were taken up at Sanjay Nagar monitoring station which was suspected to be getting faulty readings.
“The officials removed scrap dealers and traders selling construction material in the open from near the monitoring station premises. Extensive water sprinkling is regularly being done there. A temporary bus stand has also been removed,” Sharma said.
