THANE: According to the data collected by the ThaneMunicipal Corporation's Air Quality Monitoring Stations acros the city there has been a slight dip in the pollutionlevels. Though the levels have dropped to a meager 82 from 88 g/m3, the air quality has began rising in the last few months.
But despite this slight clarity in the air, the children, expecting mothers and the elderly citizens in the lake city could be at a risk of suffering from respiratory illness due to sharp deterioration in the air quality caused by a mix of dust kicked up by construction work, vehicular emissions and industrial smoke.
A combination of factors including the construction of new roads and flyovers being undertaken by the TMC and the MMRDA, besides the steady onslaught of toxic fumes that is emitted from the increased vehicles and work on the construction sites at almost every junction could lead to acute respiratory diseases and chronic pulmonary ailments in the citizens.
"The heavy showers during the monsoon resulted in a decrease in pollution levels in the air and the water bodies. The other initiatives such as tree plantation campaign, cleanliness drive, drainage cleaning and other green activities organised by the municipal corporation must have also contributed in reducing the finite air particles and lowering of the toxic air quality. However, vehicles remain the main pollutant in the city, but hopefully the pollution levels will be within the permissible limits all through the year," said Manisha Pradhan, pollution control officer at the Thane Municipal Corporation.
The permissible limit of the RSPM is 100 grams per metric cube (g/m3) which has increased in the last two months.
"Though there is an increase in the average RSMP, the air quality this year, which is far better than it was in the first few months of 2016." (see box) .
While civic officials assert that one of the main reasons for the slight drop in pollution levels were the good rains last year, the other green initiatives must have also helped in clearing the air.
Environmentalists believe that though nature will continue its course in making the environment livable, the civic body and the locals should also compe up with projects to keep the environment cleaner.
"Every monsoon the rains clear the air and this pollution rises once again. We need to find innovative solutions to reduce the air toxicity instead of waiting for the monsoon. The BMC has tied up with NEERI and set up air purifiers at various congested traffic junctions. Projects like these should be replicated here as well," said a city-based environmentalist.
