Ghaziabad: Officials take stock of pollution near air quality monitoring station - Hindustan Times
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Ghaziabad: Officials take stock of pollution near air quality monitoring station

Sep 25, 2021 10:22 PM IST

UPPCB officials said that the monitoring station at Sanjay Nagar has recorded high readings for the pollutants PM10 and PM2.5 in the past, which affects the ambient air quality of the Ghaziabad district

Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) officials inspected the area near the continuous ambient air quality monitoring station (CAAQMS) at Sanjay Nagar on Saturday and said they will resolve issues pertaining to the high pollution levels recorded at the station.

In terms of pollution, Ghaziabad is listed among the 16 non-attainment cities in Uttar Pradesh with high pollution levels. (HT archive)
In terms of pollution, Ghaziabad is listed among the 16 non-attainment cities in Uttar Pradesh with high pollution levels. (HT archive)

UPPCB officials said that the monitoring station at Sanjay Nagar has recorded high readings for the pollutants PM10 and PM2.5 in the past, which affects the ambient air quality of the Ghaziabad district.

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The district has four monitoring stations at Vasundhara, Indirapuram, Sanjay Nagar, and Loni. Of the four, the last two usually record high pollution levels, which further add to Ghaziabad’s pollution level index.

“Initially we tried to relocate the monitoring station at Sanjay Nagar to another location, but the plan could not materialise. A team of officials, therefore, inspected the location and decided to chalk out a blueprint to remove issues that increase pollution levels around the monitoring station,” said Utsav Sharma, regional officer, UPPCB.

The CAAQMS is located at the building of Sanjay Nagar Combined District Hospital, which is at a distance of a few kilometres from residential, commercial, and industrial areas.

Despite this, the station provides high readings in terms of Particulate Matter (PM) 2.5 and PM10.

On Saturday, officials said they found that roads near the hospital need repair; a private bus stand nearby is surrounded by loose soil and needs to be fixed; a vacant plot belonging to the fire department needs to be equipped with a boundary wall, among other issues.

“We have asked the Ghaziabad development authority to map vacant plots in the area. The corporation has decided to repair the roads and landscape the area wherever required. Other issues which crop up due to construction work of the regional rapid transit system (RRTS) project will remain till the project is completed,” Sharma added.

The work for the RRTS project is taking place on the Delhi-Meerut Road, which is an estimated aerial distance of about two kilometres from the site of the CAAQMS.

In terms of pollution, Ghaziabad is listed among the 16 non-attainment cities in Uttar Pradesh with high pollution levels.

Cities are declared non-attainment if, over a five-year period, they consistently do not meet the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for PM10 or NO2 (nitrogen dioxide).

Officials of the Ghaziabad municipal corporation said that different departments will work to clean the area.

“We will bring all respective agencies on board and some works will also be taken up by the corporation. We hope that the pending issues near the site will be resolved before the onset of the winter season,” said MS Tanwar, municipal commissioner.

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  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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    Peeyush Khandelwal writes on a range of issues in western Uttar Pradesh – from crime, to development authorities and from infrastructure to transport. Based in Ghaziabad, he has been a journalist for almost a decade.

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