Let’s wait & watch, say experts, term air purifiers a costly affair

Dushyant Singh Pundir

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 8

Controlling the source of pollution is more important than piecemeal solutions like installing air purifiers, believe environment experts.

The UT Administration has taken an initiative to install an air purification tower at the busy Transport Chowk in Sector 26. However, experts believe that only time will tell how effective it will be in controlling air pollution in the area.

The air purifier, installed at no cost to the Administration, was commissioned yesterday. The junction has one of the highest traffic volumes in the city. The pollution level in the area is also one of the highest in the city.

Also read: Chandigarh gets country’s tallest air purifier

Pollution comes from vehicles and construction of buildings in the form of particulate matter like methane, carbon dioxide and dust particulate, which can create a lot of health problems for people like respiratory illness.

Dr Ravindra Khairwal, Additional Professor, Department of Community Medicine and School of Public Health, PGI, said, “We need to control air pollution at source or along the pathway as installation of air purifiers will be a costly affair.”

Some experts though opine that the authorities should regularly monitor the quality of air in the surrounding area. If the tower was found to be effective in reducing the air pollution substantially, the experiment should be replicated in other polluted areas such as industrial areas, bus stand, near hospitals and traffic signals.

A professor at Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, said the tower was commissioned just a day ago and it was too early to say anything on its success. “We have to wait and watch before coming to any conclusion,” he said, adding that if the tower succeeded in reducing the air pollution as mentioned within a radius of 500 metre, such units could be set up at a distance of 6 km to reduce air pollution level in the city.

An official of the Chandigarh Pollution Control Committee said with installation of the tower, the air quality around Transport Chowk would improve considerably. 

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