Amritsar: UNDP team tours city to address air pollution issue

A United Nations Development Program (UNDP) team on Wednesday visited various parts of Amritsar city as part of a team to assess the air pollution levels to enable a future action program to address the issue.

"We are here as part of a UN mission to look at the implementation of the national clean air program in most affected cities of India. Amritsar also figures in this list," said a UNDP official who was part of the touring team.

"I represent UNIDO which is related to industrial development. So, I am looking at industrial emissions and clean technologies. We are looking at a multi-pronged approach to tackle this problem. At UNIDO, we are looking at industries adopting clean boilers and clean technologies," he added.

"At this stage, there is no commitment to action as we are scoping the problem at this point. We are also looking at alternative measures to tackle this problem," he said.

"At this stage, PM 2.5 is around 30 which is not a big concern. But diesel usage as fuel for generators is a concern. We should look at alternative forms of energy. I think the government of India's clean air program is pretty encouraging. We would discuss the plan of action for the future after doing an assessment of the levels of air pollution," another UNDP official remarked.

The UNDP officials observed the industrial units in the city and also paid a visit to the Harmandir Sahib Gurudwara, which is an iconic landmark of the city.