Industry closure fails to lower pollutants
Even after the closure of all polluting industries in Agra in compliance of the Supreme Court directive, the latest figures available from the Archaeological Survey of India laboratory at the Taj Mahal indicate that there has not been any significant drop either in the suspended particulate matter (SPM) level or sulphur dioxide (SO2) percentage in the environs of Agra. On both the counts the situation continues to be alarming.
The industries were closed on December 31, 2001.
Analysis of the data of the first week of January 2002 suggests that the level of SPM, considered a major threat to the white marble mausoleum, has not come down. It was 302.8 micrograms per cubic metre on December 8, 2001 and on January 8, 2002, after the closure of all industries, the SPM level was 382.6 micrograms per cubic metre.
The SPM level on December 10 was 286.3 micrograms per cubic metre while on January 9, it was as high as 522.8 micrograms per cubic metre. Similarly, the SO2 level in the air was 21.3 micrograms per cubic metre on December 9 and 23.0 micrograms per cubic metre on January 8.
The standard level of SPM and SO2 in the atmosphere should be 100 micrograms per cubic metre and 30 micrograms per cubic metre respectively.
If there has not been any major shift in the levels of pollution even after the closure of the chief pollutants, the iron foundries and other industries in and around Agra, the needle of suspicion automatically shifts to the contribution of the Mathura Oil Refinery, which, according to some sources, has not been maintaining high standards of pollution monitoring.
The pollutants of the refinery do not normally fall within the 20-km radius of the plant. The pollution load gets offloaded only after 35 to 40 kms from the plant and the wind movement for most part of the year is from the Mathura Oil Refinery towards Agra.
One reason advanced for the rise in the SPM or dust level in the atmosphere is the large-scale mining activity in the neighbourhood of the 10,000 sq km Taj trapezium zone.
The increase in SPM level in Agra's environs might also be attributed to generally dry river bed and winds blowing towards Agra from the western Rajasthan desert.
The Aravalis on the western border of Uttar Pradesh have been breached at some 22 points. The gaps, some several kms wide, are no longer able to act as a barrier to stop the westerly dust-laden winds from the desert. Satellite pictures have brought into focus these gaps which can create an eco-crisis.
Another factor adding to SPM level in the atmosphere is the large scale uprooting of trees between Agra and Firozabad for the four channel highway.
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