Hakim assures KMC taking measures to curb air pollution in city

MP, 9 Nov 2023, Kolkata: In a bid to combat the rising air pollution in the city, which further deteriorates in winter, Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has decided to increase use of water sprinklers while checking the random fires that erupt at the Dhapa dumping ground. 

Mayor Firhad Hakim told reporters that in a bid to combat pollution in the city, KMC has already increased the use of sprinklers to spray water on the streets to curb pollution from the dust. He added that trees are also being watered regularly. 

Hakim said that although in terms of air pollution Kolkata is in the third position compared to Delhi which is in the first, however, the situation is still worrying. Commenting on the sudden fires that break out at Dhapa waste dumping ground, Hakim said that these fire incidents are natural and not man-made. 

“Such fire is caused by the methane gas generated from the waste. As a remedy, we have already asked to spray water from above on the pile of waste gathered there,” he said. 

The Mayor also said that in the next one or two years there will be no mountain of waste in Dhapa. He said that already a large area has been cleaned out after the civic body began bio-mining of the waste. 

The mayor added that the civic body will also ask the state’s Pollution Control Board (PCB) and the police to check emissions from asphalt used in roadworks. He said that KMC has stopped using such material for road repair following an order of the National Green Tribunal (NGT).