Step towards clean air in Mira-Bhayandar: MBMC rolls out truck mounted mist cannons for dust control

Mira-Bhayandar: After rolling out five mist spray cannons, the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) has now inducted two truck-mounted mist spray cannons into the fleet to reduce dust and air pollution levels in the twin-city. As of now the civic administration has identified 14 hotspots in the twin-city-especially those having heavy traffic movement, where every time a vehicle passes by, dust clouds billow causing heavy air pollution.

The truck mounted cannons are multi-purpose and will not only work to reduce pollution but are also equipped to carry 8,000 litres of water and armed with various attachments needed for sweeping and cleaning the roads.

Purchases were made with funds received under NACP

“After purchasing the five including two stationery and three portable trolley mounted mist spray cannons worth ₹1.98 crore, two much more advanced truck mounted cannons with dust suppression system costing ₹2.53 crore have been added to the fleet,” confirmed municipal commissioner Dilip Dhole.

The purchases have been made on the virtue of funds received from the central government under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) and backed by the 15th Finance Commission. “While the company which has provided the cannons will shoulder the responsibility of maintenance for five years, some of our employees are being trained to operate the trucks.” said deputy municipal commissioner- Sanjay Shinde.

Hydraulic-operated sprinkler will consume less water

While the throw capacity of the truck-mounted cannon is 50 meters, the water will be sprayed by the rotation-enabled hydraulic-operated sprinkler system which will consume less water and work in a bigger area as the water consumption is fully controlled automatically.

The pressurised sprinklers have different types of nozzles for road washing, dust suppression and handheld nozzles with hose pipes. The Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change launched the NCAP in January-2019, with a time-bound strategy to tackle air pollution in the country.