This story is from January 6, 2021

Bengaluru: Six new mist cannons to reduce air pollution, dust on streets

The civic administration will buy six mist cannons to reduce air pollution and dust in the city. The new machines will be operational by mid-February. In July 2020, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike planned to procure 27 mist cannons, each costing Rs 53 lakh, but only two were purchased.
Bengaluru: Six new mist cannons to reduce air pollution, dust on streets
Two machines which were bought last year to spray disinfectants in public places and containment zones are now gathering dust
BENGALURU: The civic administration will buy six mist cannons to reduce air pollution and dust in the city. The new machines will be operational by mid-February.
In July 2020, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike planned to procure 27 mist cannons, each costing Rs 53 lakh, but only two were purchased. These machines were used to spray disinfectants in public places and containment zones in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak.
When Covid cases began to decrease, spraying of disinfectants also reduced. The machines are now gathering dust.
The Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change launched the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) on January 10, 2019, with a time-bound strategy to tackle air pollution in the country. NCAP identified 102 non-attainment cities, of which four are from Karnataka: Bengaluru, Hubballi-Dharwad, Davanagere and Kalaburagi. As per the target set, these cities have to bring down their air pollution levels by at least 20% in another three years.
Central Pollution Control Board allotted Rs 10 crore for Bengaluru under NCAP and the first grant of Rs 1.8 crore has been released to purchase mist cannons. BBMP will buy the machines at an estimated Rs 30 lakh each (including maintenance charges).
The civic administration’s road and infrastructure department will call for tenders this week. “In Bengaluru, the size of a dust particle is nearly 10 micro metres, and quantifying this is impossible. But every time a vehicle passes by, dust clouds billow up causing air pollution,” said a senior BBMP official. “To ensure that is controlled, mist cannons will be used to spray water in such a way that dust mixes with water and settles down,” he explained.
Recycled water from sewage treatment plants will be reused for spraying across the city. “We want to ensure nothing is wasted and want to procure water from STPs within the city,” added the official.
Asked about the fate of the pricey mist cannons the civic body had earlier purchased, BBMP officials said: “There are certain mechanical issues. They will be resolved soon and the machines will be used.”
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