BMC plans to set up office to seek hyper local data to tackle air pollution

Mumbai's civic body is in the process of setting up a command and control centre to collect data using sensor-based air quality index (AQI) monitoring devices, an official said on Thursday.

The proposal is in the "pipeline", an official told PTI, adding devices will be installed in various areas of the metropolis for "hyper local" information.

He, however, said no formal proposal has been prepared in connection with the initiative.

A day earlier Mumbai guardian minister Deepak Kesarkar had told reporters six technologies, including vehicle-mounted air filters, have been identified for reducing air pollution in the city.

As many as 350 buses of Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) will be fitted with "vehicle-mounted filters" for "removal of impurities" from dust and other particles, Kesarkar had said while addressing a press conference.

As per the latest data of the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR-India), the overall AQI in Mumbai was recorded at 133 (moderate) on Thursday evening.

The air quality at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, in the south of the city, was recorded as "very poor" with an AQI of 301 last Friday evening.