VIJAYAWADA: Three new Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations (CAAQMS) will be established in Vijayawada for effective monitoring of the air quality index. The Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board (APPCB) said that Union Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) has sanctioned a budget of Rs 10 crore for the three stations along with procurement of other machinery.
Once established, the three CAAQMS will be analysing the air quality on 12 parameters, including suspended particulate matter (SPM), SO2, CO, NH3, NOX, O3, Benzene and others on a 24x7 basis. The APPCB officials said more CAAQMS would help in detailed profiling of the city to know specific information on the quality of air.
“We have been sanctioned Rs 10 crore for three CAAQMS, three wanter sprinklers (for de-dusting), paving and grading and source apportionment study in the city. We have written to the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) to prepare the proposals so that the procurement can be done before March next year,” a senior official from the APPCB told TNIE.
Even though the APPCB is monitoring the air quality manually at three locations in the city, there is only one such station in the city, established in 2014, near the municipal guest house on MG Road.
While Vijayawada has not much of industrial activity, which potentially leads to harmful emissions, the presence of two major highways result in higher dust and vehicular emissions. With the vehicular density increasing in certain pockets of the city, the presence of the CAAQMS will help in analysing the real-time situation. The APPCB along with the civic body will decide on the locations for the to-be-established CAAQMS.
The APPBC official further explained that the source apportionment studies, for which about Rs 80 lakh has been earmarked of the Rs 10 crore sanctioned, would reveal the contributors of pollutants.“Details of the contributors would help in effectively planning the pollution mitigation measures,” the official noted.