Shivaji Park grabs eyeballs, while other areas choke

Mumbai: In recent weeks, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has gone all out to quell air pollution in Shivaji Park, Dadar. On October 28, it announced that 2.90 lakh litres of water will be sprinkled daily from the 35 ring wells in the park, apart from which misting machines were also being used. Subsequently, following MP Rahul Shewale’s visit on October 31, smog towers and increased greenery were put on the discussion board.

Lastly, the assistant commissioner of the G north ward, Prashant Sapkale, informed that a committee – including an expert from IIT or VJTI -- would be formed to investigate and arrive at a solution. After this is sanctioned by the municipal commissioner, tenders will be floated and work start after December 6.

While there is much buzz around Shivaji Park, there are parts of the city facing worse air quality which has not managed to grab the attention of the civic body. They are: BKC, Chembur, Malad West, Mulund, Kherwadi, Ghatkopar, and others, which are choking with dust from construction sites, road dust and vehicular emissions.

“There are the industries in Mahul and Deonar dumping ground which adversely affect the air in Chembur and Govandi, making these pockets some of the worst polluted areas,” said Rajkumar Sharma, a Chembur resident. “Add to that the ongoing metro work and increase of vehicular emissions from traffic jams.” On Monday, while the overall AQI of the city was moderate at 198, Chembur registered an AQI of 294, Mulund 265, Govandi 271 and BKC 220.

While Shivaji Park residents have been carrying out protest marches – the latest held last Saturday -- in line with the rising pitch of complaints of poor air across the city, the issue is not a new one. Acute dust pollution in the park is almost a decade old. In 2015, Dr Ashok Mahashur, a chest consultant at Hinduja Hospital, complained about it and scaled up the issue to Manisha Mhaiskar, principal secretary of the Urban Development Department (UDD). “When we take walk in the Shivaji Park area for fresh air, our eyes and throats choke. I feel alarmed to think what must be happening to the lungs of the people around Shivaji Park, and especially senior citizens and children who are more vulnerable to these effects,” he wrote to Mhaiskar. “The dust in the ground rises due to constant movement in the ground because children play here.” Interest towards the precinct is also driven by politics -- it is the bastion of the Shiv Sena (UBT), and it is from here that the Sena supremo Bal Thackeray started his campaign for the state. Lost in the noise of Shivaji Park are other areas. “There’s so much dust from the construction sites (over 300) in Ghatkopar. It enters our mouths and eyes when we go out for morning walks. No guidelines are followed,” said Prakash Wani from the Shiv Sena’s Shiv Arogya Sena. The body submitted a letter of complaint to the BMC and Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) on Monday. “Malad West is notorious for its poor air quality,” said resident, Karan Singh. “Every fourth building here is undergoing redevelopment, apart from other road works going on. They kick up huge quantities of dust on some days, such that we cannot see 10 feet ahead. Additionally, garbage is burnt constantly. BMC is known to flout its own pollution mitigation norms.”