GHAZIABAD: Loni is becoming a pollution hotspot in the city with the area recording 'very poor' levels of AQI for the past few days. On Friday, the AQI in Loni was at 390 and officials said the practice of e-waste burning in hundreds of illegal factories in the locality is pushing the PM 10 and PM2.5 levels.
An analysis of Loni's pollution data for the past six days has revealed that since October 18, the AQI has seen a rise. While on that day, the AQI was at 287 (poor), on Friday, it was up by a 100 points at 390 (very poor).
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The PM 10 and PM 2.5 levels have also been on the rise. For example, on October 18, the maximum value of PM 2.5 was recorded at 404, on Friday, it was 500. On October 18, PM 10 was at 445 and on Friday it was at 486. The levels of both pollutants dipped a little on Thursday, but picked up on Friday.
"There are several factors that cumulatively contributes to Loni's pollution level. But unlike other areas, the township, is a hub of illegal factories engaged in storing and retrieving e-waste and metals, and heating/burning stored material adds to the pollution levels," said Sushil Raghav, a city-based environmentalist.
"It is not that it happens only during winter, it happens all through the year. The only thing that is the problem of pollution gets aggravated during the winter," Raghav added. Ghaziabad on the whole has been recording an AQI above 200 for the past six days. But on Thursday and Friday, the AQI levels were higher than 300 (very poor).
In Loni, industrial belts like Tronica City, Roop Nagar Industrial area and Arya Nagar Industrial area mostly stay shut during the day, but local people said, the coal-based industries are active at night.
"Due to its proximity to Delhi, e-waste in tonnes are ferried from across the capital into Ghaziabad, and at night, the e-waste is dipped in drums of chemicals and heated in pit-furnaces to retrieve saleable metals," said Raghav. "The toxic fumes generated by the process gets mixed with the air resulting in a sudden spike in PM 10 and PM 2.5 levels. All this happens in connivance with the officials," Raghav alleged.
According to estimates, there are more than 1,000 illegal units in Loni, especially in areas like Amit Vihar, Krishna Vihar, Ankit Vihar and Sewa Dham. Khalid Anjum, the subdivisional magistrate of Loni, said: "There are over 1,000 illegal factories that are engaged in recycling waste and they adopt crude and unscientific ways, mostly by using coal and other cheap fuels to heat up the furnace, which results in air pollution."
He added that 150 units had been raided in the past 15 days and 53 of them were raided on Tuesday itself.
"An entire factory was demolished and cases were registered against people, since many of these small units operate at night in congested areas and at times, it is very difficult to locate them," he said.
Last year, the district administration had proposed to the state government that an e-waste recycling plant be set up. But that project has not taken off.
Asked about the issue, district magistrate Ajay Shankar Pandey said coordinated effort, with Delhi, is needed to tackle the problem of e-waste.
"More than 90% of e-waste is ferried to Loni from Delhi and even though pollution in Loni is our problem, it can be traced to Delhi," he said.