ROURKELA: One of the most industrialised cities in the nation, Rourkela is also among the most polluted. Despite efforts to control pollution in the city by the Odisha State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB) with a focus on compliance to norms, sensitisation and collective efforts, not much improvement has been found.
As part of its drive to curb pollution, the regional office of OSPCB on Friday organised a sensitisation workshop for industries under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP). Experts from the National Institute of Technology - Rourkela (RSP) and Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) stressed on the need for collective efforts to improve the situation. Earlier on the day, awareness rallies against air pollution were taken out at two locations in the city.
Air pollution in and around Steel City is largely attributed to industrial and construction activities besides forest fires. Sources said for the last several years, the city has been facing the brunt of large-scale construction activities which have only added to the air pollution. To make things worse, the majority of such projects are running way behind their completion schedule. This apart, the digging of roads across the city for the construction of an underground integrated sewerage system has also taken its toll on the city.
While pollution from Kalunga Industrial Estate and Kuanrmunda industrial belt has impacted the air quality of the city, forest fires nearby during summers has contributed to the crisis.OSPCB regional officer Binod Bihari Dash said OSPCB is continuously monitoring the situation and taking appropriate corrective steps to check pollution and spread awareness.
He said the mother industry of the city-Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) has its own AQI stations and the overall compliance remains satisfactory except for sporadic episodes due to technical issues. OSPCB is also conducting regular inspections of industries in and around the city and taking action against non-compliance.
Incidentally, on Saturday the Air Quality Index (AQI) of Rourkela measured near the NIT-R was moderate with AQI-US level at 96, PM2.5 level at 38 and PM10 level at 51, but the AQI standard drops drastically at times.