Kolkata: Continuous check and proactive steps to curb air pollution notwithstanding, the Ballygunge air quality monitoring station has been recording the worst parameters among the seven units in the city.
The air quality index (AQI) calendar revealed that the Ballygunge Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Station (CAAQMS) located at BITM logged had 10 ‘poor’ (AQI: 201-300) and six ‘moderate’ (AQI: 101-200) days. , while all the six remaining stations reported less than 10 ‘poor’ days. Salt Lake turned out to be the second-worst station with six ‘poor’ days.
KMC, which has been using mist cannons and water sprinklers to keep pollution at check, found construction activities in the vicinity of the Ballygunge station responsible for the spike in air pollution. Civic officials mainly blamed work at Sunny Park and a ready-to-mix concrete plant at Ballygunge Army camps. “We have asked both the sites to sprinkle water adequately during the operation. We have suggested to the army camp that if they do not have the mechanism ready for containing air pollution in the area, we can deploy our machinery to contain it as the air Pollution is equally affecting army personnel there,” said a KMC official.
Rabindra Sarobar had the best possible air quality days in Dec. The Rabindra Sarobar CAAQMS had 14 ‘moderate,’ two ‘satisfactory’ days, and only one ‘poor’ day. It is followed by Jadavpur with the same number of moderate days, but two poor days and one satisfactory day. Victoria station, which recorded the worst AQI in Dec 2023, improved this year with the number of ‘poor’ days dropping to three.
Experts said among the 12 pollutants identified by the Central Pollution Control Board, only two (PM2.5 and PM10) exceeded the national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) in Kolkata in winter. The seasonal variation of pollutants is meteorologically governed. Due to Kolkata’s location in the lower Ganga basin, airborne pollutants enter Bengal from neighboring states in the upper Ganga basin, contributing to the city’s pollution load, said a state PCB official.
