On Tuesday morning, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde toured various areas of Mumbai to assess the measures taken to mitigate dust and air pollution. He stated that the city's civic body has been instructed to conduct cloud seeding if deemed necessary.
The civic body has already approached a Dubai-based company, which has 100 per cent accuracy in cloud seeding and a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will be signed with it, Shinde said. The government and the civic corporation will do whatever they can to reduce Mumbai’s pollution. The civic body has been directed to do cloud seeding if required, he said.
CM responded to media inquiries at Jogger's Park in suburban Bandra during his early morning inspection of various initiatives carried out in the city as part of the measures to control dust and air pollution. Cloud seeding is an artificial technique aimed at enhancing the probability of rains.
Shinde reviewed various road and footpath cleaning and washing works undertaken as a part of dust control measures in some areas at Pedder Road, Bandra, Kalanagar, Milan Subway, Juhu and Santacruz. The chief minister said he has directed the municipal commissioner to hire 1,000 tankers on rent and wash the city roads on alternate days. If all the roads in Mumbai are washed on alternate days, dust will be greatly reduced and air pollution will also go down, he said.
On Monday, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) announced that 584 kilometers of roads in 24 civic wards in the metropolis are undergoing regular washing and cleaning. This initiative, employing 121 tankers and other machinery, is a part of the concerted efforts to control dust and address air pollution.