Mumbai: Why do we still have to breathe dusty air, ask Aarey residents

The dusty road between Panchavati to Royal Palms is causing locals breathing problems

Despite Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's directives to the BMC and other agencies to address air pollution, the Aarey Milk Colony still shows no improvement. The road from Panchavati to Royal Palms remains dusty, causing inconvenience to around 20,000-30,000 commuters who have to endure dust inhalation in the absence of water sprinkling measures, unlike in other parts of Mumbai.

The condition of the road from Aarey Market to Royal Palms is so bad that it becomes difficult for people to pass through the road as the dust is always seen in the air. Locals have been demanding that the road be repaired at the earliest Royal Palms resident Rupesh Shukhla said, "Due to the extremely dusty road between Aarey market to Mayur, we are suffering from allergies and other health issues. The visibility on the road is also an issue. It becomes difficult to breathe so we cover our face, but it's getting worse day by day. Children travelling by school bus are the most affected. While water is being sprinkled at various places in Mumbai to prevent dust pollution, why is it not being done in Aarey?"

A senior citizen Satyam Ganji told mid-day that due to the bad Air Quality Index (AQI) and pollution in Mumbai, he is planning to leave the city. "Senior citizens become totally handicapped and are unable to travel on this road as it is full of dust, deep potholes and an accident-prone path. No taxi or auto-rickshaw driver wants to come to Royal Palms. Due to the condition of the road, it becomes difficult to get treatment from doctors as clinics and hospitals are far away. I approached all organisations like Aarey, the public works department, BMC and local politicians, but to no avail. I am planning to leave Mumbai due to the unsafe travel route and it being a polluted dusty place. I hope for some miracle for safe roads," Ganji said.

Team mid-day travelled on the road and found that there was a lot of air pollution that takes place due to the high amount of dust on the road. According to Royal Palms resident Girish Shrivastav, the condition of the road from Panchwati to the Mayur Nagar Royal Palms Gate is getting worse day by day due to the massive amount of dust. "This road is full of potholes during the monsoon and with dust for the rest of the year. School-going children and officegoers are suffering from allergies due to the dust. After COVID, lung ailments have increased and this road is making people asthmatic," Shrivastav alleged.

On March 1, mid-day carried a report titled Mumbai: Dusty road leaves Goregaon's Royal Palms residents gasping wherein it was highlighted that while residents of Aarey Milk Colony may live next to a forest, those of Royal Palms, an upscale neighbourhood, have been gasping for breath due to massive amounts of dust in the area. The main road in the colony is being concreted by the BMC.

BMC issues stop-work notices to 595 sites

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has started taking action against those not following dust mitigation rules. BMC has issued stop-work notices to around 10 per cent of construction sites across the city till Thursday. There are around 6,000 construction sites in the city, which include private construction, metro, coastal road and infrastructure projects. To date, BMC has issued stop-work notices to 595 construction sites. Till November 20, 2023, BMC had issued 343 stop-work notices and in the last three days, 252 stop-work notices were issued. On October 20, 2023, civic chief I S Chahal had issued guidelines for dust mitigation. According to the guidelines, BMC gave those responsible for the construction projects 15 days to install sprinklers and 30 days to set up the anti-smog machine at the sites. Also, BMC ordered that the sites be fully surrounded by 25 25-foot tall sheets and the entire project covered with jute or green cloth. A BMC official said, "A team from the ward office conducts regular visits to construction sites. Those not adhering to norms are handed stop-work notices."