Bhopal: Air pollution could soon become a problem in the state capital if immediate steps are not taken to curb the deterioration of the air quality in the city. Vehicular exhaust, untreated open sewage, construction activities, among others are leading to air pollution in the city, said experts at a round table discussion on measuring air pollution and action plan for the city on Tuesday.
Leading urban planners, environmentalists, activists, research scholars, and representatives from state and union government took part in the meet that was organised by EMBARQ —a sustainable urban mobility initiative of World Resources Institute (WRI) India.
Stressing on the importance of sustainable planning for Bhopal, Lokendra Thakkar, senior scientific advisor EPCO said that state governments' environment agency is looking at a comprehensive carbon footprint survey of the state capital by utilising international best practices. "We are in the loop. New technology replaces the old. A city like Bhopal needs a well lead plan that protects its environment," Thakkar added.
Any plan to combat air pollution should take into account pollution from vehicles to pollution from sewage, said HVC Chary, scientist, Union ministry of environment and forests. "Proper treatment and recycling is needed. Bhopal lacks in municipal solid waste management and a well-connected public transport network," he said.
In order to have an all-inclusive and environmentally sound action plan for the city, there is a need for monitoring and analysis of the data collected, the experts said.
Environment activist Subhash Pandey, stressed on the necessity of analysing the data present in a better manner. "There is problem of authentication of data that is collected by the government agencies," he added. Data for air pollution is generated at six points in the city. However, government experts admitted that only the data collected from only two locations is reliable.
"Authentication of data is a missing link. Data should be supported by activities that relate to good or poor quality of data, so far there is no way to authenticate the data from any agencies," said a MPPCB representative.
Pawan Mulukutla, sustainable transport manager of EMBARQ, who was moderating the session, said that there are gaps in relation to cost of technology and manpower. "Measures need to be developed so that the city can draw up an all-encompassing plan to deal with the issue."
