Ahmedabad had just 8 ‘good’ air days in 2018

AHMEDABAD: For all of 2018, Ahmedabad had just eight good air days, according to System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting (SAFAR) of the Indian Institute of Tropical Sciences. In contrast, there were 114 days when air quality was ‘poor’ and ‘very poor’. Between December 2017 and November 2018, the Pirana dump site in east Ahmedabad, which is home to 7.85 lakh tonnes of smouldering waste, was the most polluted place, followed by Bopal, a posh residential area in the west.
While referring to this finding on May 26, the National Green Tribunal demanded that air pollution in Gujarat’s most polluted city be curbed and ordered the formation of a committee and sought a report from it on the industrial use of a cheap fuel, petroleum coke. The petition was filed by advocate Amit Panchal demanding the prohibition of the use of furnace oil and petcoke as fuels.