• Source:JND
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As Delhi is breathing toxic air and concerns have been raised about the causes of air pollution, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) said on Sunday that road dust remains a major driver of particulate pollution in the capital.

The CAQM reached this conclusion after its flying squads inspected 321 road stretches across Delhi under Operation Clean Air.

The inspections were carried out on Saturday and were meant to check how much dust had settled on the roads, the road cleaning, sweeping, and how dust-suppression measures by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), and Central Public Works Department (CPWD) were working on the ground.

35 high-dust area, 131 clean

The CAQM stated that out of the 321 stretches checked, 35 showed high levels of visible dust, 61 had moderate dust, 94 recorded low dust, and 131 had no visible dust.

In a statement, the commission said the results once again highlighted that road dust remains a major contributor to Delhi's particulate matter, especially in winter.

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It added that regular mechanical sweeping, timely removal of collected dust, pavement upkeep, and water-sprinkling are essential.

MCD needs to step up measures: CAQM 

The largest number of roads under inspection (182 stretches) comes under MCD and all 35 high-dust spots were found in its jurisdiction.

Under MCD, 50 stretches showed moderate dust, 70 low dust, and 27 had no dust. The commission stated that MCD needs to step up road-cleaning, especially on stretches where dust keeps returning.

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NDMC, CPWD comparatively better

The NDMC performed comparatively better as out of 133 stretches checked, 100 had no visible dust, 24 showed low dust, and nine showed moderate dust. None of the NDMC roads fell in the high-dust category.

CPWD, which has a much smaller network, also reported no high-dust stretches. Out of the six roads inspected under CPWD area, two had moderate dust and four had no visible dust.

(With PTI Inputs)

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