Can one imagine a clean Diwali with no air and noise pollution playing havoc with our anatomical existence? May be, yes, if data of Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) are to be believed. Diwali has gotten cleaner. While the air pollution levels recorded this Diwali are still above permitted levels, the figures are much lower than those recorded last year. There has not been too much of noise pollution either, with figures remaining well under control.
GPCB attributes this decrease to a general decline in pollution levels, compounded with reports of firecracker sales reaching an all-time low and an added increased public awareness and participation. ‘‘Pollution levels are definitely going down and people are becoming more aware. More schools, residential complexes and other organisations have been advocating a pollution-free Diwali, so a drop is only natural,’’ says Sanjiv Tyagi, GPCB secretary.
On Diwali day, New Year and Bhai Bhij, air pollution level was above the level of 100 and 150 micrograms per cubic metre of Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter (RSPM) permissible in residential and industrial areas, respectively. However, it has on the whole gone down this Diwali.
For instance, in Behrampura, pollution level saw a difference as marked as 118 micrograms per cubic metre down from last year’s 162 on Diwali. Even in the usually polluted Narol-Cadilla section of town, this level did come down marginally from last year’s 197 to 185 this year. Yet there were some areas, like the LD Engineering College area, where RSPM content shot up to 172, as opposed to last year’s 159. A similar rise was noted in the RC Technical High School area in Mirzapur, where the RSPM content was 197, almost twice the permitted level. Last year’s RSPM figures for this area was 157 on Diwali.
Among the industrial areas of the city, the Odhav GIDC was the only one to register an increase in air pollution level, going from 138 last year to 192 this year. Both units at Naroda GIDC saw a decrease with one going from 103 to 82, and the other from 128 to 49. The air pollution reading in the Shardaben Hospital area showed a drop from 158 to 129 in the RSPM content.
There was no noise pollution to speak of either, with noise levels remaining well under the daily permitted mark. ‘‘These levels are different for different areas and depend on the time of day,’’ explains Tyagi, ‘‘Day time is considered between 6 am and 10 pm and 55, 65 and 75 decibels (dB) are allowed in residential, commercial and industrial areas, respectively. At night between 10 pm and 6 am, the permissible values go down to 45, 55 and 70, respectively.’’ He further informs that the rules are slightly different for Diwali, when ‘‘the noise limit for fireworks is 125 dB at a distance of four metres from the explosion’’. He insists that Diwali this time was ‘‘peaceful’’. ‘‘I could even sleep through the night,’’ he quips.
The loudest part of the city was Dilli Darwaja with 101 dB, measured at about 7 pm on October 20. Maninagar has been recorded as the quietest, with both LG corner and railway overbridge registering 72 dB. Last year, noise levels in the city had ranged from 79 in Navrangpura and Memnagar to 108 dB at the Bajaj showroom near Gandhi Ashram.
Source: Expressindia.com
GPCB attributes this decrease to a general decline in pollution levels, compounded with reports of firecracker sales reaching an all-time low and an added increased public awareness and participation. ‘‘Pollution levels are definitely going down and people are becoming more aware. More schools, residential complexes and other organisations have been advocating a pollution-free Diwali, so a drop is only natural,’’ says Sanjiv Tyagi, GPCB secretary.
On Diwali day, New Year and Bhai Bhij, air pollution level was above the level of 100 and 150 micrograms per cubic metre of Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter (RSPM) permissible in residential and industrial areas, respectively. However, it has on the whole gone down this Diwali.
For instance, in Behrampura, pollution level saw a difference as marked as 118 micrograms per cubic metre down from last year’s 162 on Diwali. Even in the usually polluted Narol-Cadilla section of town, this level did come down marginally from last year’s 197 to 185 this year. Yet there were some areas, like the LD Engineering College area, where RSPM content shot up to 172, as opposed to last year’s 159. A similar rise was noted in the RC Technical High School area in Mirzapur, where the RSPM content was 197, almost twice the permitted level. Last year’s RSPM figures for this area was 157 on Diwali.
Among the industrial areas of the city, the Odhav GIDC was the only one to register an increase in air pollution level, going from 138 last year to 192 this year. Both units at Naroda GIDC saw a decrease with one going from 103 to 82, and the other from 128 to 49. The air pollution reading in the Shardaben Hospital area showed a drop from 158 to 129 in the RSPM content.
There was no noise pollution to speak of either, with noise levels remaining well under the daily permitted mark. ‘‘These levels are different for different areas and depend on the time of day,’’ explains Tyagi, ‘‘Day time is considered between 6 am and 10 pm and 55, 65 and 75 decibels (dB) are allowed in residential, commercial and industrial areas, respectively. At night between 10 pm and 6 am, the permissible values go down to 45, 55 and 70, respectively.’’ He further informs that the rules are slightly different for Diwali, when ‘‘the noise limit for fireworks is 125 dB at a distance of four metres from the explosion’’. He insists that Diwali this time was ‘‘peaceful’’. ‘‘I could even sleep through the night,’’ he quips.
The loudest part of the city was Dilli Darwaja with 101 dB, measured at about 7 pm on October 20. Maninagar has been recorded as the quietest, with both LG corner and railway overbridge registering 72 dB. Last year, noise levels in the city had ranged from 79 in Navrangpura and Memnagar to 108 dB at the Bajaj showroom near Gandhi Ashram.
Source: Expressindia.com