Mumbai: Chandivali residents take to social media as authorities fail to address issues of air pollution

Photo Credit: Arun Srivastava

The residents of Chandivali, an upscale residential neighbourhood in central Mumbai, have started a social media campaign against the air pollution problems in the area as the concerned authorities have failed to address the issue.

"Cement plant works, under-construction buildings, and roads are the major reasons behind the deteriorating air pollution levels in the area," Mandeep Singh Makkar, founder of Chandivli Citizens Welfare Association (CCWA) said.

He said the residents on many occasions have taken up the issue with the concerned authorities, but the meetings have not yielded any results.

On February 1, the residents led by a senior citizen, Arun Srivastava, held a meeting with Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) and submitted a letter detailing about the presence of heavy smoke emitting from chimneys located on Khairani Road.

"In the letter, we requested the MPCB authorities to look into the matter and suggested that BMC, Fire Services department, and police, should inspect the units. We also asked them to install an AQI monitoring device to closely monitor the pollution levels," said Srivastava who is a resident of Nahar Amrit Shakti.

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Srivastava, who is suffering from respiratory ailments, said that several residents of the area have been complaining of throat infections, dust allergies, and breathing problems. He said the dangerous smoke levels have further increased in the last few months since a few furnace units driven out from Wadala and Govandi areas have shifted here.

"Besides sending emails to authorities, I have personally visited the offices of BMC and MPCB, and met the officials to apprise them about the issues. However, these meetings have not yielded the any results," he said.

The residents rued that the increase in pollution levels and the failure of the authorities to address the same have caused severe health issues.

Prashant Koitan, a local resident who is suffering from sinusitis, said: "We have to keep our windows and doors shut as there is always a thick layer of smoke outside. Sometimes, the operations at the RMC plant go on even during late night hours further complicating the issue."

Mid-day reached out to Vidyanand Motghare, Joint Director, Air, MPCB, but he was unavailable for comment.

Another resident of Chandivali and member of CCWA, Lavita Powell, who has been campaigning against the residents' issues for over a decade, said that they earlier kept a track of air quality levels in the area, in order to report to the authorities.

In 2017, a few residents of the area did a house-to-house survey to check if there was any impact of pollution in the area. The survey revealed that many local residents were suffering from itchy eyes, cough, throat infection, and other upper respiratory ailments. The residents, in a letter, submitted the revelations to the pollution board and BMC authorities

An aggrieved Powell said that since the administrative officers change from time to time, they have to keep raising the issue. She said the authorities need to conduct a study, measure the pollution levels and address the issue.