UPPCB identifies 50 air pollution hot spots in Ghaziabad for stricter checks this year

Ghaziabad:

Ghaziabad:

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The Uttar Pradesh pollution control board (UPPCB) has identified 50 different hot spots that are prone to bad air and are likely to aggravate pollution levels in the approaching winter season.

Directions have been issued to different agencies to take steps in their respective areas in order to keep a close watch on the hot spots to keep pollution levels in check, officials said.

The officials said they identified 17 hot spot areas affected by vehicular pollution and 10 where construction activities are on.

Nine spots are affected by road dust while six industrial areas have been identified about which the board often receives complaints of emission. Another eight spots are where there are issues of garbage dumping and burning.

Last year, only seven to eight hot spots were identified but the number has been increased this year in order to have stricter checks.

“The hot spot areas will be under scanner and different agencies have been asked to keep a tab on pollution-emitting sources. In this connection, UPPCB has already asked for a self-audit of construction sites and installation of cameras. The compliance is to be done by October 10. The cameras will be monitored online by UPPCB. We have also issued directions to various industrial units in the city to install cameras facing the chimneys,” Utsav Sharma, regional officer of UPPCB, said.

The officials have identified about 70 to 100 industrial units that use coal and wood as fuel and will be required to install such cameras and hand over the online control to the board for constant monitoring.

The Supreme Court in 2017 had banned the use of pet coke and furnace oil as fuel.

Industrial units in areas such as Sahibabad, Pandav Nagar, South Side GT Road, Meerut Road, Loni Road and Dasna are among the hot spots.

They have also identified areas such as Siddharth Vihar, Vasundhara, Loni Road, Raj Nagar Extension, NH-9 and Delhi-Meerut Road among others, where construction activities are on.

NH-9 and the Delhi-Meerut Road are the two major hot spots where construction activities for the Delhi-Meerut Expressway and the Regional Rapid Transit System, respectively, are already underway.

“The unpaved road areas not only result in emission of dust but also lead to traffic issues and aide air pollution. The agencies have been asked to make use of water sprinklers and deploy anti-smog guns, etc., The administration had directed them to repair roads. Construction activities have already started to impact air quality. As a result of the ongoing activities, the Loni monitoring station is showing high AQI levels,” Sharma said.

The online monitoring station at Loni already has shown a high average of 241.14 air quality index while the other three at Indirapuram, Sanjay Nagar and Vasundhara had an average AQI of 212.86, 190.29 and 195, respectively, from October 1 to October 7.

An AQI between zero and 50 is considered “good”, 51 and 100 “satisfactory”, 101 and 200 “moderate”, 201 and 300 “poor”, 301 and 400 “very poor”, and 401 and 500 “severe.”

“The city is largely affected by road dust, construction activities, industrial and vehicular emission. The air quality is already showing signs of deterioration which is also the result of instances of stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana. At a local level, all enforcement measures and checks need to be put in place to ensure local pollution sources are curbed to an extent,” said Akash Vashishtha, a city-based environmentalist.

According to UPPCB figures, in 2019 the city recorded 31 days with ‘severe’ category of air quality index (AQI). It had another 67 days when its AQI was recorded under the ‘very poor’ category and another 112 days when the AQI was under the ‘poor’ category.

Hot spots

Construction: Siddharth Vihar, Raj Nagar Extension, Loni Road, Vasundhara, NH-9, Meerut Road, Madhuban Bapudham, Northern Peripheral Road, C&D waste facility

Road dust/unpaved roads: Tulsi Niketan, Aradhana Cinema to Apsara Border, outside transport department office, near New Bus Stand, outside Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Park, Nehru Nagar, Vasundhara zone

Industrial: Sahibabad, Pandav Nagar, South Side GT Road, Meerut Road, Site II Loni Road, Dasna

Traffic congestion: ABES crossing, Vijay Nagar crossing, Tigri crossing, Lal Kuan flyover bridge, Ghanta Ghar, Santosh Medical crossing, Sahibabad-Seemapuri crossing, Sihani chungi, Raj Nagar Extension crossing, Old bus stand

Garbage dumping/burning: Morta, Hindon Vihar, Surya Nagar, Sahibabad, garbage collection points in residential areas, below Hindon elevated road near river Hindon, Arthala, Anand Nagar