Noida: With air quality oscillating between ‘very poor’ and ‘poor’ categories, Noida Authority has stepped up dust suppression and pollution-control measures, deploying additional resources for road sprinkling, mechanical sweeping and construction waste management. The drive includes 60 water tankers, 52 anti-smog guns and 14 mechanical road-sweeping machines.Last year Noida Authority had deployed 14 mechanical sweeping machines and 91 anti-smog guns. But the AQI at the same time last year was much worse. On Nov 15 last year, Noida recorded an AQI of 397, while Greater Noida had an AQI of 392 — both in the ‘very poor’ category — and, at 418, Ghaziabad’s air quality remained in the ‘severe’ category.On Saturday, Noida recorded an AQI of 318, Greater Noida 324 and Ghaziabad 333, with all three cities falling in the ‘very poor’ category. On Sunday, the CPCB portal was unavailable. However, according to the Sameer app, Noida’s AQI stood at 272, while Greater Noida recorded 231 and Ghaziabad 252. On Sunday, AQI improved across the region, with Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad recording average AQIs of 265, 225 and 243, respectively.The tankers will be sprinkling water on roads to minimise dust in areas like sectors 16, 17, 18, 20, 25, 61, 87, 62, 64, 45, 100 and Phase 2. SP Singh, general manager, Noida Authority, said, “The water tankers are covering a combined distance of around 280 km every day, sprinkling water on roads to minimise dust. In addition, 42 static anti-smog guns and 10 truck-mounted anti-smog guns have been deployed at different locations,” he said.The mechanical sweeping machines will be covering nearly 340 km of roads daily. The machines are being used to remove accumulated dust from road surfaces, reducing the chances of particulate matter becoming airborne due to vehicular movement. Officials said as the air quality continues to deteriorate, they will soon increase their numbers this year too.Construction and demolition (C&D) waste management is another focus area of the drive. Around 2,000 tonnes of C&D waste are picked up per day. The teams are also conducting inspections to ensure compliance with the GRAP norms.Greater Noida Authority has also intensified its dust-control measures, deploying 224 anti-smog guns, 107 water tankers and 11 mechanical road-sweeping machines across the city.The Authority has divided Greater Noida into 21 zones, with senior officers appointed as zonal officers and managers as assistant zonal officers to monitor pollution-control measures. Water is being sprinkled on roads and trees to suppress dust, while field teams have been tasked with ensuring garbage removal and preventing open burning.
A Greater Noida Authority’s tanker sprinkles water in Udyog Kendra 2 in Greater Noida
However, local residents said that the measures appear insufficient to tackle air pollution.A resident of Noida Sector 51, Sanjeev Kumar, said there is lack of enforcement and compliance to check pollution. “The air quality started deteriorating from Diwali due to unchecked use of firecrackers. Now, there is construction materials lying in open at several places which adds to pollution. My mother is an asthma patient and during winter health issues triggers. We have installed air purifiers and also limited outdoor activities. However, this is not a permanent solution and the govt must do something concrete to address this issue,” he said.
