Mumbai: Mumbai woke up to smoggy skies with less visibility on Friday, and the hazy mornings are expected to continue over the weekend. As per India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast for Mumbai city and suburbs for the next 48 hours, the skies in the morning will be hazy and maximum and minimum temperature will be around 32°C and 23°C, respectively. The weather will remain dry.
Meanwhile, the overall air quality index (AQI) of Mumbai saw improvement on Friday after the local authorities Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) implementation. The overall AQI on Friday was 128, which on Wednesday was 198. On Wednesday, atleast eight areas recorded AQI above 200, which areas like Mazgaon, Chakala-Andheri East, Navy Nagar-Colaba, Malad and Borivali recording AQI above 250. However, on Friday, except Deonar, all monitoring stations recorded AQI below 200.
Some of the areas with poorest AQI on Friday included Deonar (205), Navy Nagar-Colaba (186), Bandra East (162) and Byculla (153).
"Because of the positive interventions under GRAP IV, like closure of polluting bakeries, stop work to construction sites not following air pollution control norms, regular water misting, deep cleaning drives etc, the AQI has slightly improved. We will continue the actions over the weekend and flying squads are on duty across 24 wards," an officer from BMC Enviornment department said.
Under GRAP IV, the BMC had decided to stop all construction sites, polluting units in areas consistently recorded AQI above 200. However, with positive interventions, so far apart from 53 construction sites which are issued stop work orders, no construction activities have been stopped.
Meanwhile, the former BJP corporator from Colaba, Makrand Narwekar wrote to BMC Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani demanding effective implementation of GRAP and halt all non-essential construction, road works and debris activities to control pollution in Colaba and Cuffe Parade.
In his letter to the BMC Chief, he stated that in last few days, the AQI is crossing 200 in several areas of Mumbai, particularly in Colaba and Cuffe Parade. "The AQI has frequently reached levels that are unhealthy and hazardous to public health, and the situation has now become unbearable. It is widely observed that large-scale construction activities, continuous road-repair work, and improper handling of construction debris are among the major contributors to the city’s worsening air quality," remarked Narwekar.
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