Kolkata Witnessed Good Air Quality Index During Diwali: West Bengal Pollution Control Board

Kolkata: The weather god played a role in ensuring the cleanest Diwali in recent times in Kolkata and adjoining districts as the cyclone Sitrang passed by during the festivities, in addition to awareness programmes and vigilance, the West Bengal Pollution Control Board (PCB) said. During the 2022 Diwali, Kolkata witnessed ‘Good’ AQI as compared to ‘Moderate’ or ‘Very Poor’ for metro cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru and Chennai, the WBPCB said in a statement on Thursday (November 4).

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It said that improved air quality data and reduced noise level figures show that Kolkata in particular and West Bengal as a whole has witnessed the cleanest Diwali in recent times.

The state PCB said,

Barring violations reported from few pockets of the state, persistent awareness campaigns, vigilance from the WBPCB’s Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC) coupled with some influence of the passing Cyclone Sitrang have contributed to such improvement in celebrating the cleanest of Diwali in 2022.

While in Kolkata, the highest air quality index (AQI) stood at 49 on Diwali, it was 330 in Delhi, 130 in Mumbai, 158 in Bengaluru and 261 in Chennai, the WBPCB said.

While the cyclone had its effect in Kolkata, North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas, West Bengal has witnessed “Good” AQI across every district, it said.

Sitrang passed by the West Bengal coast before making landfall in neighbouring Bangladesh, but did bring rain and strong wind in the coastal districts of North and South 24 Parganas and Kolkata, dampening Diwali festivities on October 24.

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The WBPCB said that awareness drives through various platforms like radio, meetings, social media and newspapers had a collective effect towards reduced sale and bursting of illegal firecrackers, which in turn ensured better ambient air quality.

The police arrested 270 persons for illegal firecracker bursting or violating other pollution norms during Diwali festivities till October 27 across the state, with Kolkata topping the list at 92, followed by 50 in Siliguri and 25 in Purulia, it said.

A total of 14,892 kg of illegal firecrackers were seized, with Kolkata topping the list at 9,695 kg, it said.

Seizure of firecrackers in the state went up two times this year compared to 2019, while arrests have increased 18 times, the pollution control board said.

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The WBPCB said that most of the locations in the state had reduced noise levels both during day and night time in 2022 even when compared to pre-Covid 2019, when no restrictions were in place, claiming that this is direct fallout of awareness and enforcement.

It said that there has been a slight increase in overall noise levels in 2022 as compared to 2020 and 2021, when the festivities were observed under strict Covid-19 restrictions.

Stating that the night-time noise levels in Kolkata were lower than the day-time noise levels during the Diwali festivities this year, the PCB said that it hints at ambient noise due to honking or construction being more prevalent than firecracker noise.

It said that measures are being planned to contain day-time noise.

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(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 is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. 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 wake of the current 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 wellbeing, 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 diarrhoea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.