Bhubaneswar, Jan 10: The Odisha State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB) has called upon all urban local bodies (ULBs) across the state to initiate immediate measures to tackle the pollution levels following severe deterioration of air quality in several towns and cities for the last few days.
The board has asked all the urban local bodies to take measures to prevent dust pollution. They have also been advised to monitor and control dust emission from construction activities and also sprinkle water on roads to settle down the dust particles along with other measures.
The air quality index (AQI) till 4 pm on Tuesday was in very poor category in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Angul, Balasore and Baripada, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
Similarly, at least seven towns in Odisha registered an Air Quality Index (AQI) of more than 300 at 4pm on Monday while the AQI in Angul was recorded 352, third worst in the country.
Similarly, Cuttack had an AQI of 340, Bhubaneswar- 334, Balasore- 334, Keonjhar -326, Talcher- 304 and Rairangpur -300.
On the other hand, the AQI in Barbil was 292, Vyasanagar 275, Tensa 182 and Rourkela 178.
Air pollution in Odisha is in bad shape due to factors such as heavy vehicular movement, rapid industrialization, felling of trees and construction work.
