Indore
Lockdown tied many foot with a bar but the nature was free. The Mother Earth was showered with blessings of healing itself. The minimal human activities brought to fore man rare sighted wildlife and the recovery rate of the damage caused to the land was far beyond expectations. Due to the least human activities, pollution of the air and water in the city has been decreased and turned it cleaner.
According to the report of Regional Office of Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board, the water quality of Kahn River has been improved and also the air quality has reached to good and satisfactory.
“Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board had taken samples of water from Kahn River from three places before the lockdown and during the lockdown. During sample testing, it was found that the water quality has improved as level of dissolved oxygen and pH value increased while the suspended solids and other pollutants also reached minimum,” Chief Chemist of Pollution Control Board Dr DK Wagela said.
He added that the major reason behind such change is no human activities in the banks and ghats of the river while no dumping of waste in it. “We should maintain the same discipline to keep the river clean even after lockdown as it is the lifeline of the state,” he added.
Similarly, the Air Quality Index at three stations of the city was improved.
“Earlier, the AQI of the city was above 122 and even reached above 200 in some days but during the lockdown, it has dropped to 63 which is over 48 per cent of decrease,” he added.
Environmentalists advice to follow lockdown at least once in a week:
On the eve of World Environment Day, citizens believed that lockdown should be followed by people at least once in a week for the sake of a healthy environment. Nature lover and gynaecologist Dr Nilesh Dalal said, “We have seen increase in the number of birds and cleaner air during the lockdown and realized that how we were disturbing nature. We should follow self-imposed lockdown once in a week which will help saving nature and also give us time to spend with our family.”
Similarly, environmentalist Ankit Shukla too has the same feeling and said that people should not depend on government for everything and should play their part for nature.
IMA’s vice president of Madhya Pradesh Dr Sanjay Londhe said that the studies have proved that those living in more green cover and less pollution are less prone to many diseases including the deadly COVID-19.
Difference in AQI
Stations AQI(Before) AQI(After)
DIG Office 122 63
Sanwer Road 96 54
Vijay Nagar 76 33
Water Quality of Kahn River before lockdown:
Characteristics Unit Kabitkhedi Shakkarkhedi Sanwer
pH pH 7.88 7.94 7.9
TDS mg/l 700 725 680
S.Solids mg/l 40 24 20
D.Oxygen mg/l Nil Nil 2.7
BOD mg/L 18 24 10
COD mg/l 78 88 59
Water Quality of Kahn River after lockdown:
Characteristics Unit Kabitkhedi Shakkarkhedi Sanwer
pH pH 7.72 7.56 7.62
TDS mg/l 663 702 510
S.Solids mg/l 30 35 20
D.Oxygen mg/l 2.1 1.8 5.2
BOD mg/L 13 15 4
COD mg/l 45 54 30
