BENGALURU: While the city’s battle with air pollution might not have received as much attention as cities like New Delhi, there is a serious problem which needs to be dealt with immediately, experts said. They were speaking at a workshop on Bengaluru’s rising air quality crisis, organized by Co Media Lab.
The workshop also saw the launch of a report on air quality across seven arterial routes in the city which has thrown up some shocking details on the particulate matter levels. However, Karnataka State Pollution Control Board has said that the survey hasn’t been carried out in a scientific manner.
With a common start point of Jayanagar or Banashankari, the routes extended to Marathahalli, Silk Board, Electronics City, Whitefield, Uttarahalli, MG Road and Mekhri Circle. As per the readings, PM10 levels (particulate matter less than 10 micrometers in diameter) were found to be over 800 at junctions on Marenahalli Road and Hosur Road while New Tharagupet saw high PM2.5 (particulate matter less than 2.5 mm in diameter) at 200.66. The monitoring exercise was carried out with a monitor which was used to measure personalised exposure levels.