“New Initiatives Being Taken To Control Air Pollution,” Says Maharashtra Minister Deepak Kesarkar

Mumbai: In view of the deteriorating air quality in Mumbai, a lot of new initiatives are being taken by the corporation to reduce air pollution, said Maharashtra Minister Deepak Kesarkar on Wednesday (November 8). “The pollution level is above what is prescribed (in Mumbai). And that’s why a lot of new initiatives are being taken by the corporation. One of them is cleaning up the 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,” the minister told ANI.

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He said that some filters are being installed and checked at different locations, and which technologies are found to be the best will be implemented in Mumbai.

There are certain filters that are being installed at the junctions and certain filters that are being installed in gardens and hospitals. So once these trials are over, whichever technologies are found to be the best will be implemented in Mumbai. We are in that process, and very strict implementation is being carried out by the Mumbai Corporation.

He added,

Wherever the plywood and other material, which is hazardous, is being burned in bakeries and cellular prices, action is being taken against them. There were certain areas where the work of using acid for manufacturing gold ornaments was going on, and action was being taken against them. It is our duty to see that Mumbai people get pure air; it should be non-polluted.

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The air quality in Mumbai continued to remain in the ‘moderate’ category on Wednesday.

The overall Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 149 at noon, according to data provided by the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR)-India.

Many areas in the city dipped to ‘poor’ and ‘very poor’ air quality.

The state pollution control metre, installed at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST), reflected the air quality of Mumbai as ‘very poor’ at 7 am. A health alert was also issued in the CST area due to the deteriorating air quality.

The air quality index varied in different areas of Mumbai. In the Bandra Kurla Complex, the air quality was recorded in a ‘moderate’ category, with an AQI of 200 at 9 a.m. Meanwhile, Colaba and Borivali East reported’moderate’ air quality with an AQI of 151 and 141, respectively.

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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 diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.