Mumbai: Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde, on Thursday (November 9), chaired a review meeting regarding the air pollution in the state. Speaking about the review meeting, Shinde said, “Seeing the air pollution in Pune, Mumbai and other cities in the state, we reviewed a meeting and instructed the authorities to work on air pollution.” He further said, “We have also instructed BMC to clean the roads and dust on roads in Mumbai with the help of 1000 tankers and the anti-fog machines. The municipal corporations have also been instructed to work on a war level in order to reduce air pollution.”
The Maharashtra CM also claimed that he has given a free hand on the usage of all the machines required to bring down air pollution. The minister said,
If needed, cloud-seeding instructions will also be done. The High Court has also given some instructions regarding air pollution and we are following the norms of the Environment Department too.
Also Read: “New Initiatives Being Taken To Control Air Pollution,” Says Maharashtra Minister Deepak Kesarkar
There has been a significant decline in the air quality in some of Maharashtra’s major cities, like Mumbai.
Earlier in the day, Mumbai’s JJ Hospital opened a separate OPD ward to provide emergency treatment to patients suffering from respiratory problems due to the increasing air pollution in the city.
According to the data issued by the System of Air Quality Forecasting and Research (SAFAR-India), the current AQI in Mumbai was recorded at 121.
State Minister Deepak Kesarkar said on Wednesday that, in view of the deteriorating air quality in Mumbai, a lot of new initiatives are being taken by the corporation to reduce air pollution. The state minister said,
The pollution level is above what is prescribed (in Mumbai), due to which a lot of new initiatives are being taken by the corporation. One of them is cleaning roads with water. The second is sprinkling water on construction sites. Fogging guns, which spray water into the air, are also being used to reduce air pollution.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which in its Season 10 is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Ayushmann Khurrana. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In a world post COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental well-being, self-care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.
