As a preventive measure against air pollution to reduce the Air Quality Index (AQI) in the jurisdiction of Panvel City Municipal Corporation (PCMC), the Panvel civic commissioner has taken an initiative by installing as many as 20 water sprinklers at Kharghar toll plaza on the Sion-Panvel highway for washing the dusty tyres of vehicles heading towards Mumbai.
Ganesh Deshmukh, Panvel civic commissioner said, “Installing water sprinklers at Kharghar toll plaza for cleaning the dusty tyres of vehicles, mostly heavy vehicles, is one of the preventive measures to reduce air pollution. Around 350-400 vehicles, including those travelling long distances, cross the Kharghar toll plaza to reach Mumbai and Thane, where the air pollution has risen. As the tyres of these vehicles are dusty, they contribute to air pollution. In one hour, approximately 5000 litres of water is being provided by water tankers for cleaning tyres of vehicles using water sprinklers at Kharghar toll plaza. Due to cleaning of tyres of vehicles, the slurry spread on the lanes of the toll plaza is also being cleaned by the civic staff. The water sprinklers are operational round the clock.”
Panvel deputy municipal commissioner Vaibhav Vidhate said, “Apart from water sprinklers being used at Kharghar toll plaza, Panvel civic body has also increased vigilance on heavy vehicles like dumpers transporting debris, as they are yet another cause for air pollution. The civic body’s flying squads have been deployed to ensure that the dumpers loaded with debris are covered on top with plastic sheet. Also, the construction sites have been made to erect metal steels along their boundary.”
DMC Vidhate further informed that on Saturday, the AQI monitoring system of MPCB at Kalamboli displayed 86, which is a satisfactory mark. Last week, a local NGO had clicked the image of the AQI monitoring system at Kalamboli when the display indicated 300 AQI at 11pm. The image was made viral on social media, and it was reported in a newspaper. However, we verified it with MPCB whose technical staff carried out calibration of the AQI monitoring system and it was learnt that the AQI 330 was displayed as an average of 24 hours monitoring of air pollution, said Vidhate.
