Claims vs reality: Dust doesn't settle on Mumbai's clean-air drive

- On paper, machines are deployed daily but residents, workers and vendors say dust still hangs heavy in the air

Mumbai’s air quality continues to slide, even as the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) claims it has stepped up its dust-control operation. But a ground report from Andheri East and West — among the city’s most pollution-hit pockets — suggests a growing disconnect between civic records and lived reality.

 

According to a BMC official posted at the Chakala–Andheri East ward office, the municipal corporation deploys one mist-blowing machine every morning around 7 am, covering an 80-kilometre stretch. Daily water usage for dust suppression stands at around 10,000 litres through two tankers of 5,000 litres each, operating twice a day, supplemented by