Soon, state to use drones to monitor industrial pollution
KOLKATA: West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB) is all set to introduce drone surveillance to monitor whether industries are using Air Pollution Control Devices (APCD) judiciously.
The state PCB have been getting a lot of complaints from the general public that some of the industries habitually remove their APCD during night hours and release the pollutants into the atmosphere.
“It has come to our knowledge that some industries, particularly those located in the non-attainment cities remove their APCD during the night and release huge pollutants into the atmosphere. Our gov-ernment is pro-industry but at the same time, we are committed to protecting human life from the clutches of pollution. The drone will identify such errant industrial units with the pollution data availa-ble on a realtime basis with our Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC). Steps will be taken against these flouting industries as per law,“state Environment minister Manas Ranjan Bhunia said at the programme organised by WBPCB to commemorate the occasion of World Environment Day. This year’s programme was observed with the slogan of ‘Beat Plastic Pollution’. Calling for coopera-tion from all sectors to curb the use of single-use plastic less than 120 microns, Bhunia said that plastic has become a ‘Frankenstein’.
“We have identified 60 plastic manufacturing units in the state. We will soon call the authorities of these units for a meeting and will urge them to obey the rules and regulations running their units. If they still found to disobey norms, then they will have to face the music,” he added.
The minister also flagged off a state bus with Bus Roof Mounted Air Purification System (BRMAPS), an innovative device which will monitor the air quality as the bus moves along its demarcated route in the city.
“Our Source Apportionment Study has indicated that road dust and vehicular pollution contribute to nearly 50 per cent of air pollution in the city. So we have envisioned this device which will help us moni-tor on a real-time basis, where in the city the pollution is maximum,” Bhunia said.
The bus has also been fitted with Air Purification System device inside it. “Passengers sitting inside an AC bus often complain of circulation of polluted air inside the bus. This device is capable of removing fine particulate matter inside the bus effectively by sucking up dirty air and releasing it as clean, purified air that’s safe to breathe,“the minister said.
Two buses with such devices were rolled out as a pilot project on Monday and the WBPCB will intro-duce the same in 20 buses soon.