Mumbai: In just three days, more than 4,000 people signed an online petition, urging the BMC to expedite the implementation of the 'Mumbai Air Pollution Mitigation Plan' which was released in March. The public concern comes amid the city's consistent poor air quality. On October 27, a good samaritan, Ankit Somani, started the petition which also appeals to citizens to pledge support to the schemes of state government and civic authorities, which aim to reduce pollution.
Environmentalist Zoru Bhathena said, “Its a shame that the BMC has failed to implement the mitigation plan since March. They are just fooling the citizens. When the plan was prepared in March then what were they waiting for? It's like waiting to start treatment till the patients need to be taken to the ICUs.”
Ill-effects of bad air on children
Highlighting the ill-effects of bad air on people, especially children under the age of 12, Somani's petition says, “Mumbai was never like this. If we act today, we can prevent ourselves from facing the issues which have plagued New Delhi. As compared to last year, we are seeing little to no improvement in the air quality this season.” It further talks about the aforementioned air pollution mitigation plan which chalks out affordable solutions that don't warrant compromise on mega-infrastructure projects. “The BMC should immediately implement the plan and also increase the number of monitoring stations/sensors measuring Mumbai's air quality from 17 to 500,” sought the petitioner. He also appealed to people to take a pledge to segregate waste at home and work.
Meanwhile, the BMC has already issued 27 new guidelines for the construction and infrastructure sites. Besides, the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board has also announced measures like stopping constructions, barring heavy vehicles from entering the city, shutting down polluting installations and implementing an odd-even scheme for private vehicles to curb pollution.
