New Delhi: As the capital braces for another winter pollution season, Public Works Department (PWD) has put in place a hotspot-based plan aimed at tackling one of the most persistent contributors to poor air quality: dust from roads, construction activity and other open sources.PWD has identified 47 pollution hotspots across the city. The plan goes beyond cleaning up the immediate stretch around a hotspot. Even where pollution-control measures are already in place, dust from nearby areas can undermine the effort.Loose soil, uncovered construction material and excavation activity just outside a treated stretch can continue to send dust into the air, with wind carrying it towards the hotspot. This is the gap PWD’s expanded hotspot strategy aims to address: instead of limiting action to the pollution hotspot itself, the department plans to identify and tackle dust sources across a 3-km radius around it.The hotspots include Anand Vihar, ITO, DTU, Dwarka, Bawana, Pusa, IGI Airport, IIT Delhi, areas near JNU, Burari Crossing, North Campus and Alipur, among others.Officials said the focus would be on preventing dust from becoming airborne rather than dealing with it only after pollution levels rise.While vehicular emissions remain a major contributor to Delhi’s pollution, dust from exposed surfaces can add substantially to the particulate load, particularly during dry and stagnant weather conditions.The department is also planning to deploy around 200 anti-smog guns as part of the dust-suppression measures.
