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Residents of Taloja demand cleaner air, plan drive on Oct 2
Residents of Kharghar and Taloja have planned a drive at Central Park on October 2, to make citizens aware of the air pollution in the node owing to the industrial
Residents of Kharghar and Taloja have planned a drive at Central Park on October 2, to make citizens aware of the air pollution in the node owing to the industrial units at Taloja.
However, Kharghar Taloja Welfare Association (KTWA) – which is organising the drive – said they are yet to receive permission from the police.
Mangesh Ranawade, co-founder of KTWA, said, “We chose Gandhi Jayanti to start the initiative as this is a peaceful drive. With the model code of conduct in place, we will soon take permission from the police to conduct the drive.”
Citizens have been complaining of air pollution at Taloja for the past five years, as the air quality worsens during this time.
Anant Harshvardhan, regional officer, Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), said, “The industrial units have been asked to look into chemicals released. A survey is being conducted to identify the worst-affected areas and spots in Taloja village and Kharghar have already been identified. We will decide on installing air quality monitoring devices.”
The drive will include pulmonologists and other experts, who will help citizens understand the harms of pollution.
Adesh Raj, 40, a Kharghar resident, said, “The efforts taken by the officials and civic body are not enough to curb pollution. There has been no monitoring of air pollution by industrial units and no device has been installed.”
Ganesh Deshmukh, Panvel City Municipal Corporation (PCMC) chief said they have asked MPCB to take necessary action.
“We told them [MPCB] that we will help with funds as they have the expertise,” Deshmukh said.
Residents said PCMC has deliberately not uploaded the detailed environment status report (ESR) on its website, as the report contains information about increasing air pollution and reasons for it.
Dinesh Pathak, a city-based environmentalist, said it has been more than a month since the ESR was released, but it is yet to be uploaded. “This shows that the civic body is hiding something.”
However, Deshmukh said they have not yet received the detailed environment status report from the appointed agencies.
“There were some discrepancies which have worked on and as soon as we get the report, it will be uploaded,” said Deshmukh.
