20 new air quality monitoring stations to come up in city

NEW DELHI: In an attempt to tackle the air pollution during the upcoming festive season and after Diwali, the Delhi government will install 20 new air quality monitoring stations soon. The minister of environment Imran Hussain has directed the officials to start the work and he himself was present on Tuesday to monitor the installation of air pollution analysers in Rohini.

"The proposed network should strengthen the ability to assess the ambient air quality in Delhi. This system should also enable the assessment of ambient air quality from macro to micro level," said Hussain. The minister chaired a meeting with the senior officials of the department along with the members of the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC). The DPCC will maintain all these new stations. Data generated by these stations will enable the Delhi Government to identify the problem areas and impacts due to air pollution, and also help in tackling the problem more efficiently.

The government officials asserted that data generated will also be useful for health impact studies of air pollution for better scientific evaluation and conclusions.

After the discussion, the minister said, "Display boards provided with the new stations will enable the general public to access real-time pollution levels." The Minister emphasized the importance of the network, particularly during the winter season and festive season including Deepawali when air pollution rises. Hussain directed the DPCC officers and suppliers to complete the work in the specified time frame as committed in Graded Response Action Plan for Delhi approved by the Supreme Court.

The Environment Minister also visited one site located at Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies in Rohini, Sector-16, Delhi to see the installation of air pollution analyzers.

Meanwhile, studying the records of air pollution and its effect, the experts said that along with the outdoor air pollution there should be a focus on the indoor air pollution too. The experts asserted that more people are dying due to poor indoor air quality as compared to outdoor air pollution.

"Indoor air pollution is one of the major causes for the increased numbers of respiratory illness and heart diseases. Looking at the steep rise in respiratory and heart problems, the air purifier can be one of the effective ways to tackle the problem. Hence while choosing an air purifier it is important to identify an air purifier which captures minutest of air pollutants," said, Arvind Chabra of Blueair India.