Control dust, snarls at expressway repair sites: UPPCB to Noida

Noida: The Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) has sent a notice reminding the Noida Authority about taking adequate dust-control measures at places on the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway that are under repairs. It has also asked the Authority to ensure that the repair work does not become a hurdle to smooth movement of traffic.
The UPPCB notice follows repeated complaints from residents of nearby sectors that contractor hired by the Authority to repair the road neither keeps the construction material covered nor sprinkles water on the stretch to help the dust settle.
“The repair work will take its own time. But the contractor has to ensure minimum air pollution during the process. We have asked the Authority to regularly sprinkle water on the stretch, which is not being done as of now,” said Utsav Sharma, the regional officer of UPPCB.
Sharma said that another cause for concern was traffic jams caused by the repair work. He pointed out that vehicles stranded at one place also added to pollution. “For road projects that go on for a longer period, traffic should be diverted or regulated in a way that vehicles don’t keep waiting. This needs to be ensured along the expressway,” Sharma said.
Officials said dust pollution was intense around the stretch between Mahamaya flyover and Phase 2 on the Noida to Greater Noida route. Three underpasses are also being constructed on the expressway, which is adding to pollution in the absence of proper preventive measures, officials said.
Noida Authority officials claimed all dust control measures were being taken at the repair sites. They said the contractor would be reminded to ensure more water sprinkling.
With winter approaching, the pollution control department is working on an action plan and alerting authorities to take dust control measures by the middle of this month, when the air quality usually started deteriorating. Through most of August and September, the AQI had remained in the ‘good’ and ‘moderate’ categories, thanks to the extended monsoon. On Monday, however, the AQI was at 94 (satisfactory) in Noida and 128 (moderate) in Greater Noida.
Earlier this week, UPPCB had written to the Noida Authority, Ghaziabad Development Authority and other agencies to prepare a list of sites where municipal solid waste, horticulture and construction and demolition (C&D) waste was being discarded. The authorities were asked to clear the sites cleared at the earliest.
One of the major sources of local air pollution, the letter said, was smoke from the burning of waste in the open. This could be controlled by putting a stop to unauthorised dumping of garbage, it added.