Mumbai: Considering the amount of dust generated in the city, the BMC has decided to sweep all roads twice a day, morning and evening, till June on an experimental basis. Currently, sweeping is carried out only in the morning, except in the BMC’s A and D wards, which have VIP areas, where it is done twice. Now, the practice of sweeping the roads twice a day will be extended to the entire city.
Sweeping is carried out between 7am and 10.30am in all wards except A and D, where it is done between 6.30am and 8.30am. The BMC’s solid waste management (SWM) department has decided to sweep the roads in the evening between 5pm and 7pm on an experimental basis from April to June.
The civic body will spend about Rs 19 crore additionally on engaging contract workers to carry out sweeping in the evening.
“For sweeping one kilometre of a road, we require about two people. Accordingly, manpower will have to be deployed,” said a civic official. Around 1,750km of the city’s roads are swept daily by engaging manual labour while 252km of roads are swept using mechanical machines.
“Though primarily sweeping is carried out to clear litter, dust is also a major issue, and we hope to address the issue by sweeping twice a day. Besides, we are procuring a number of mechanical power-sweeping machines, which suck in dust from the road by vacuum, and will solve the problem of dust settling on the roads or being suspended in the air,” said a civic official.
Kiran Dighavkar, deputy municipal commissioner (DMC), SWM, said, “We will be carrying out sweeping of the roads in the evening on an experimental basis till June.”
Bhagwan Kesbhat, founder of Waatavaran, said, “While sweeping roads twice a day is a welcome step, its effectiveness in reducing air pollution will depend on how it is carried out. It’s also important to train municipal staff on how to properly collect and dispose of dust, especially from unpaved roads. The BMC also needs to manage dust from construction sites. Sweeping the roads twice a day should not become cosmetic exercise.”
Mumbai: Considering the amount of dust generated in the city, the BMC has decided to sweep all roads twice a day, morning and evening, till June on an experimental basis. Currently, sweeping is carried out only in the morning, except in the BMC’s A and D wards, which have VIP areas, where it is done twice. Now, the practice of sweeping the roads twice a day will be extended to the entire city.
Sweeping is carried out between 7am and 10.30am in all wards except A and D, where it is done between 6.30am and 8.30am. The BMC’s solid waste management (SWM) department has decided to sweep the roads in the evening between 5pm and 7pm on an experimental basis from April to June.
The civic body will spend about Rs 19 crore additionally on engaging contract workers to carry out sweeping in the evening.
“For sweeping one kilometre of a road, we require about two people. Accordingly, manpower will have to be deployed,” said a civic official. Around 1,750km of the city’s roads are swept daily by engaging manual labour while 252km of roads are swept using mechanical machines.
“Though primarily sweeping is carried out to clear litter, dust is also a major issue, and we hope to address the issue by sweeping twice a day. Besides, we are procuring a number of mechanical power-sweeping machines, which suck in dust from the road by vacuum, and will solve the problem of dust settling on the roads or being suspended in the air,” said a civic official.
Kiran Dighavkar, deputy municipal commissioner (DMC), SWM, said, “We will be carrying out sweeping of the roads in the evening on an experimental basis till June.”
Bhagwan Kesbhat, founder of Waatavaran, said, “While sweeping roads twice a day is a welcome step, its effectiveness in reducing air pollution will depend on how it is carried out. It’s also important to train municipal staff on how to properly collect and dispose of dust, especially from unpaved roads. The BMC also needs to manage dust from construction sites. Sweeping the roads twice a day should not become cosmetic exercise.”
