NEW DELHI: With the city’s air quality turning poor, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has deployed mechanical road sweepers and hired eight anti-smog guns in a slew of measures to control pollution. NDMC vice chairperson Satish Upadhyay on Saturday announced a comprehensive set of ‘Air Pollution Control’ measures for 2023-24.
“We recognise the urgent need to prioritize environmental well-being as air pollution, a significant contributor to respiratory diseases, heart conditions, and cancer, demands our collective attention,” Upadhyay said.
The NDMC has deployed seven mechanical road sweepers, operating in two shifts with GPS tracking and wet sweeping. In all, these machines have covered a sweeping distance of 280-330 kilometers between April 1 and October 26, said the NDMC. All avenue roads are mechanically cleaned every day or on alternate days, under real-time monitoring done at the Smart City Integrated Command and Control Centre, Upadhyay said.
All central verges and side berks in the NDMC area are already green-paved. The horticulture department has planted 3,200 trees and 33,12,885 shrubs, completing its target for 2023-24, he said.
The NDMC has procured one anti-smog gun that is operational on Mahadev Road and is in the process of hiring eight more to combat pollution, he said.
It deployed 18 water tankers or trolleys to water plants with capacities ranging from 5,000 to 10,000 litres. The tankers will be using STP-treated water. “NDMC has constituted a team of officers to inspect construction sites for enforcing dust mitigation measures, leading to 25 challans worth Rs 12.50 lakh issued from April 1 to October 27,” Upadhyay added.
He said that the construction and demolition waste from the NDMC area, which averages 70 metric tonnes per day, is collected daily and sent to the Shastri Park C&D recycling plant.
