Mostly street roads and arterial roads are dustier than the major roads like Janpath, Governor?s house to KIIT square, Bidyut Marg and AG Square to Airport. Even the national highway (NH16) passing through the city has dusts and sands at both sides of the road.

Though the Bhubaneswar municipal corporation (BMC) is claiming that it cleans the road regularly, but real situation is different.

Areas like Baramunda, Nayapalli, Mancheswar, Rasulgarh, Khandagiri and unit-8 witness dusts on its roads. ?Due to the bad roads, potholes and ill maintenance of street and arterial roads, dusts and sands get deposited on it creating health problems,? saidJyotiRanjan Das of Baramunda.

Dusts in the roads contribute to air pollution. ?It is a main component of the suspended particulate matter (SPM) that pollutes air. Unlike summer season, the dust particle in winter gets concentrated in the air,? Odisha State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB) senior environmental engineer NiharRanjanSahu.

The SPM, a dangerous particle which degrade the air quality, has been increased in the air of the city atmosphere. According to a scientist of the OSPCB, 100 microgram SPM in atmosphere is tolerable, but more than this would impact on the health of the people of the city. Quantity of SPM at the locations like IRC Village, Rasulgarh and Unit-1 in the city is higher than other places, sources said.

It not only pollutes the city?s air, but also poses health threat to people residing here. ?Polluted air makes a person?s lungs weak. Constant exposure to these dusts will create respiratory problems,?said Capital Hospital superintendent Dr Binod Kumar Mishra, adding, ?It will also affect the people who have diseases like asthma.?

Bhubaneswar mayor AN Jena said they use vacuum cleaner vehicle to clean some major roads. But it can?t be used in other roads due to uneven surfaces. Sweepers have been engaged to clean those roads. ?We are trying to keep clean all the roads which have dusts,? he added.