Lockdown: Off ventilator, Gujarat industrial zones beat Gandhinagar AQI

Paul John | TNN | Apr 7, 2020, 07:11 IST

$The improvement in air quality of these industrial estates is significant because the needle had not moved even fractionally over the years despite a raft of government moratoriums and strictures passed.$

The improvement in air quality of these industrial estates is significant because the needle had not moved ev...Read More

AHMEDABAD: Infamous as India’s critically polluted hotspots, Vapi, Ankleshwar, and Vatva in Ahmedabad have shown signs of better respiratory health since the janata curfew on March 22 and the subsequent lockdown from March 25. The improvement in air quality of these industrial estates is significant because the needle had not moved even fractionally over the years despite a raft of government moratoriums and strictures passed.
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The three polluted areas now fall in the Air Quality Index (AQI) score band of Gandhinagar, one of the greenest capitals of the country. As the industrial estates turn off their reactors, shut their boilers, and stop their chimneys from spewing toxic air, the lungs of Gujarat’s golden corridor seem to be healing.

Vapi was rated the worst polluted estate in the country on the Central Pollution Control Board’s comprehensive environment pollution index (CEPI). It scored 90.75 in May 2019. Now, Vapi has recorded a 79.7% drop in sulphur dioxide levels, while the carbon monoxide levels have dropped by 7.87%. Vapi’s Air Quality Index was 313 on March 19, which meant ‘very poor’. The number is now 100, an unprecedented plunge.
Similarly, Ankleshwar — once as polluted as Vapi — has beat Gandhinagar in AQI with a score of 30 on March 29. The Gujarat capital’s best AQI score for the entire month of March was 46 on the 28th! Ankleshwar had aCEPI score of 80.21in 2018. Vatva industrial estate in Ahmedabad has registered an 87% reduction in sulphur dioxide levels. Nitrogen dioxide levels plummeted by 23%. The AQI also showed a marked improvement — with the score dropping from 191 on March 3 to 54 on March 29.
“In all these places the major sectors contributing to air pollution were transport, industries, and power plants,” said a senior Gujarat Pollution Control Board official. “Construction, road dust re-suspension, and residential activities also contributed to pollution. In addition, landfill fires, operation of DG sets, cooking at restaurants also added to pollution.”