BHUBANESWAR: As Durga Puja celebrations have started in the city, the lack of adequate measures to check dust pollution has emerged as a matter of concern for residents. Apart from vehicular movement, road digging and restoration work along with sand transportation from within the city are major causes of dust pollution. To make matters worse, the civic body’s plan of covering roadside soil with grass bed remains largely on paper.
The ongoing digging and construction work along Nayapalli Road near the stadium covers the entire area with a thick layer of dust and the movement of vehicles from morning till evening only adds to the problem. The area needs to be adequately covered, pointed out Prasant Sahoo, a commuter.
Similarly, residents of Palasuni area raised the issue of dust menace along the NH and its service road up to Rasulgarh because of sand transportation, road digging, and an open soil bed. The PM10 level often exceeds 80 mg/m3 during winter. However, in the absence of adequate measures including proper sweeping, the situation may aggravate further, said a scientist of Odisha State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB).
As the roads will get crowded during Durga Puja, steps should be taken to check dust pollution through mechanised sweeping and covering of open soil beds with grass, he said. OSPCB officials said the civic body should also ensure adequate precaution after a road is dug for any purpose to check dust pollution.