City to get two air quality monitoring stations soon

In order to check air pollution in the city, the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) will instal Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Station (CAAQMS) in Mysuru soon. At present air pollution is being monitored manually at two places and the city is still safe as the air pollution is within the national limits.

Officials have identified three places to set up the station at a cost of Rs 1.5 crore. They have identified three places - besides the DC’s office, the site near the Dasara Exhibition grounds and Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya on Irwin Road will have stations. KSPCB, Mysuru Urban regional office, Environment Officer B M Prakash told DH that an expert committee, including environment officers, scientific officers and others, would zero in on one of these places to set up the station.

The station will be able to monitor ambient air quality regularly. Air pollutants, namely Sulphur Dioxide (SO2), Oxides of Nitrogen as NO2, Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM) and Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter (RSPM/PM), will be identified for regular monitoring at the locations.
An increase in the number of vehicles and a large number of industries coming up around the city and dust of debris from construction sites are the main cause for the rise in air pollution in the city.

Monitoring of the pollution level will help to take measures to chalk out plans to check pollution. The KSPCB has taken measures to establish such stations in every district to monitor and check pollution levels.

Stations planned earlier

Prakash said that in 2008, KSPCB had planned a station in front of the Town Hall but it was stopped due to certain problems. Similarly, a site was identified at Makkaji Chowk behind Garuda Mall, a shopping complex, in the city. The Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) was requested to sanction the land but the plan was dropped as the site was under litigation.

The results of ambient air analysis in Mysuru indicate that the respirable particulate matter (RSPM) is within the national limits and thus Mysuru is safe for now.