Lokmat News Network
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:
The municipal commissioner G Sreekanth underlined the need for a little more effort to maintain the air quality in the city. The city is not less than Indore in cleanliness, but the poor air quality is keeping it away from becoming the cleanest city in India, he said.
A meeting of stakeholders was held in the Smart City headquarters today. The members held a thorough discussion and expressed concern over the decline of air quality index in the city due to myriad reasons. Considering the future, the CSMC will have to undertake measures to improve the situation at the earliest, they stressed. The civic chief joined the meeting through video-conferencing from Mumbai. The Aurangabad Smart City Development Corporation Limited’s deputy chief executive officer (DyCEO) Saurabh Joshi, CSMC’s deputy commissioner (solid waste management) Somnath Jadhav, National Clean Air Programme advisor Dr Geetanjali Kaushik, Maharashtra Pollution Control Board’s regional officer, NEERI’s Rahul Vyavhare, ASAR’s Virat Singh, Suhas Joshi, special officer of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Circular Economy expert Swati Singh, pulmonologist Shreyas Bardapurkar and others were present in the meeting.
Air quality improvements made by CSMC
The corporation has succeeded in segregation of garbage from 47 percent to 80 pc.
Developed vertical gardens on every nook and corner.
Constructed water fountains at different squares and circles in the city.
Developed green belts in different parts of the city.
Constructed footpaths (pavements) on important roads.
Usage of Sweeping Machines for cleaning roads.
Box
Former head of NEERI, Rakesh Kumar recommended using modern technology instruments to monitor growing air pollution.
Kaushik said that the CSMC has received an aid of Rs 68 crore under NCAP and 15th finance commission. However, Rs 51 crore has been spent, out of it, on the task.
Concern of experts
The city is facing an adverse situation from 2019. Earlier, the elderly or aging citizens would visit hospitals for various ailments. However, in the past 3-4 years, it has been noticed the children aging between 1 and 15 years are also complaining of chest pain and other ailments. This situation is an alarming one, therefore, prompt action is the need of the hour, said the experts in the meeting.
What we can do
Segregate and handover wet, dry and other waste to Ghantagadi attendant.
Produce compost from waste in colonies with more than 100 houses.
Avoid burning of garbage and other waste.
Avoid or minimise the use of two-wheelers and four-wheelers; and make more and more use of public transport in the city.