KOCHI: While enhancing the level of security in the city, the FIFA Under-17 World Cup will also serve to improve the quality of air.The agencies concerned will thoroughly monitor the level of pollution. The Kerala Pollution Control Board (KPCB) will monitor the quality level and presence of chemicals in the air which will be displayed on a screen installed at the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium.According to M A Baiju, Chief Environmental Engineer, KPCB, it was following a directive from FIFA that the air quality level will be screened at the venue. The KPCB team will check the quality of air round the clock.
“The monitoring will commence before the World Cup matches start. The quality of air, pollution level and presence of chemicals will be displayed at the venue. Air quality will be updated on an eight-hour basis,” he said.
The display equipment will be installed spending Rs 2 lakh. For maintaining the system, a fund of Rs 5 lakh per month is required. “Currently, the screening will be done throughout the FIFA Under 17 World Cup matches in Kochi. If required, the system can be used at the Kaloor stadium on a permanent basis. But a decision in this regard has not been taken yet,” he said.
Air monitoring system at Madhava Pharmacy Jn
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will inaugurate a new air monitoring station at Madhava Pharmacy Junction on October 4. The ambient air monitoring station will be the third such system installed in Kochi after Vyttila and Eloor. The station will record air quality and display real-time data. The new system will enable the Pollution Control Board to monitor air pollution level at central areas in Kochi city.
“Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will inaugurate the system at a ceremony to be held in Thiruvananthapuram. The monitoring will begin soon after the inauguration,” KPCB chairman K Sajeevan said.
The Pollution Control Board is also planning to set up an air monitoring station at Kaloor junction. Already there are reports that air pollution level is rising in Kochi owing to increasing number of vehicles in the city and suburbs. A monitoring station was set up in Eloor to monitor air pollution by industries located in the area.