The plan includes short-term and long-terms measures to curb the rising levels of pollution.
Following the rise in air pollution levels in the city, especially of PM2.5 and PM10, the authorities at the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) have prepared a detailed air pollution control plan and have submitted it before the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) on Thursday.
The plan includes short-term and long-terms measures to curb the rising levels of pollution. At present, the main contributor to the air pollution in the city is dust from the road and from building construction sites.
"The main two contributors to air pollution which results in high levels of PM2.5 and PM10 in the air will be addressed in the coming six months. We have decided to make wall-to-wall roads and road cleaning will be completely done automatically with machines which drastically reduces dust over manually sweeping roads," said Lochan Sehra, in-charge municipal commissioner, AMC.
"For construction sites, there are several rules which they have to follow such as constantly watering and covered the construction site. If any entity is found violating the norms, now, the civic body will stop the construction work. We will screen commercial construction activity and make sure water sprinkling, curtain, barriers and dust suppression activities are being done extensively," added Sehra.
Discussing the other steps to be taken, he said that diesel-powered vehicles which are more than 15 years old, will be phased out with the help of the RTO. "A policy is in the making to strengthen CNG infrastructure and for electrical buses. More integrated traffic management systems will also be introduced for lane-driving accordance. We are more focused on developing green buffer zones," remarked Sehra.
The in-charge municipal commissioner said that natural air filters such as trees and plants are being planned at traffic corridors. "First, we are focusing to repair pothole-laden roads which are the main points where dust and dust particles gather. Parallel development of green patches in open spaces, schools and hospitals will also help. More water fountains are also being planned," said the commissioner.
The civic body has prepared informational and educational communication material to reach out to the public for occasions when the air quality index reaches alarming levels. It has an advisory for the time when the air pollution is likely to shoot up and what kind of steps one should take. There are eight stations across the city which are monitoring air pollution round the clock and forecast two days' air quality.
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 "Air Pollution")
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