Road dust contributes to 20% of the air pollution in the city, according to civic officials.
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There might be slight improvement to Bengaluru’s deteriorating air quality in the coming days as the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike will induct 17 new mechanical sweepers to its current inventory of nine. A total of 26 mechanical sweepers will cover a majority of the city’s arterial roads with each servicing a 50 km stretch. Mechanical sweepers have mechanised brushes at the bottom with a vacuum suction system. This system can suck in five cubic metres of dust in a single instance. “They (the machines) will take another 15 days to be delivered. These machines will be distributed among 24 Assistant Executive Engineers (AEE) for major roads, and they will have the responsibility of keeping the road clear of any dust, silt in the 50 km stretch that's in their jurisdiction. So these AEEs will have to make sure that there are no potholes or inundation in these roads, because then the machines won’t work. The AEEs will also be given one garbage compactor, and adequate manpower to clear any solid waste in the same area,” BBMP Commissioner N Manjunath Prasad told TNM. While the BBMP had asked for funds from the state government for 34 additional sweepers in December 2018, it has been granted funds for 17 of them. These 17 mechanical sweepers will be inducted on a rental basis. BBMP officials said that this will also help in minimise waterlogging in the city’s roads. According to Karnataka State Pollution Control Board officials, road dust is the second biggest contributor to air pollution in the city after vehicular emissions. Nagappa Basappa, Scientific Officer at the KSPCB, said, “Road dust contributes to 20% of the air pollution in the city. Mechanical sweepers will help us dealing with it. It is part of the 44-point action plan agreed upon by nine state government departments including the KSPCB.” The development comes after many civic groups in the city have been asking for such mechanical cleaners. Zibi Jamal, a member of Whitefield Rising, a city civic group, said, “This road dust is an unrecognised danger. This dust gets ground with every passing vehicle resulting in PM 2.5 pollution which directly shaves years off our life. On a more immediate front, it steadily encroaches the road in an already strained city.” “A third of the road is often taken up by the road dust, often causing skidding and accidents for two-wheelers. A mechanised cleaner is a necessity that will replace the back-breaking manual labour with a superior outcome,” Zibi added. She also called for timely payment to the contractors by the civic body to ensure smooth service. While experts and activists welcome the move, they urge authorities to look into mitigating other sources of dust in the city too. Aishwarya Sudhir, Air Quality and Health Programme Lead - Bengaluru, Health & Environment Alliance (HEAL), said, “Road dust and dust from construction are two of the key sources responsible for air pollution in the city. With rapid expansion and road work underway for various projects across Bengaluru, massive amount of dust is being generated. Be it the elevated corridor in Koramangala or the Metro work on the Marenahalli road, one can not help but choke as they pass through these junctions. It is critical to learn and adopt from best practices followed by other cities across the world as the metro construction work is here for the long haul. Road and construction dust contribute to particulate matter heavily, resulting in dangerous air pollution levels.”
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