21 years after industrial ban, Agra still among India's worst polluted cities

India Today , Friday, July 21, 2017
Correspondent : Siraj Qureshi
Although the Taj Trapezium Zone Authority (TTZA) has placed over two dozen restrictions on industries in Agra to protect the Taj Mahal from pollution, but most of these restrictions remain more on paper than being practically implemented. As a result, the Taj Mahal remains engulfed in pollution year round.

If pollution data of Agra is viewed, the entire city is surrounded by polluted air and the condition is deteriorating every year, making it difficult for the ad-hoc moratorium on new industries in Agra placed by the Environment Ministry to be lifted anytime soon. This has created difficulty in the expansion of existing industries in Agra, along with the setting up of new units.

The officials who are responsible for the protection of the Taj Mahal from pollution are not even able to prevent garbage from burning in the city and neither are they trying to control the levels of airborne dust. Agra ranks among the five worst cities in India in terms of average Air Quality Index (AQI).

An Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) official told India Today that from February to May, PM-10 particulate matter increased in the air around the Taj Mahal, which caused the AQI to reach dangerous levels. Taking a glimpse of the air quality statistics of Agra, in May 2017, PM-10 in Agra was at 203 while AQI was 169. In April, PM-10 was 170 and AQI was 147. In March, PM-10 was 141 and AQI was 127, while in February, the PM-10 particulate was at 148 and AQI was 132. All these levels are dangerously high and could give rise to various respiratory illnesses and even lung cancer, but the administration is yet to take any action on this matter.

Agra Tourist Welfare Chamber Secretary Vishal Sharma said that Agra remains one of the worst polluted cities of India despite the closure of hundreds of polluting industries. He said that there is a ban on setting up new industrial units in Agra but, the air pollution is not coming down. Instead, the air quality is becoming poorer with every passing year, making it difficult to avoid respiratory illnesses after breathing in this air for the tourists. A lot of them have taken to wearing masks when coming to Agra. The Hota Committee report on pollution was not implemented in Agra.

Sharma revealed that even Noida has a better air quality than Agra. He said that Agra has a major problem of PM 2.5 particulate in the air, apart from the dust in the air which originates from non-paved roadsides as well as the occasional dust storms that hit the city from the west including Rajasthan.

The project of creating a three-layer green barrier between Rajasthan and Agra was never fully implemented and consequently, the air quality drops significantly in the city during the summer months due to dust. While in the winters, the PM 2.5 particulate and NO2 wreak havoc.

To protect the Taj Mahal from pollution, the Taj Trapezium Authority and local administration have placed several restrictions, but no efforts are being made to control the real factors that are causing such high pollution levels. Henceforth, India's industrial cities have better air quality than Agra, despite the fact that Agra let go of its polluting industries in the interest of the Taj Mahal about 21 years back.

The thermal power house that powered a large part of Agra was shut down and the use of coal in industries was banned. The petha (a soft candy popular in Agra) industry was shifted out of the city and petrol/diesel operated vehicles were banned from entering the restricted zone of 500 meters around the Taj Mahal. Despite all these measures, pollution hasn't gone down in Agra, which clearly indicates that it wasn't the industries alone that caused the most pollution in Agra.

 
SOURCE : http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/agra-taj-mahal-india-pollution-air-quality-index-industrial-ban/1/1008495.html
 


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