TNPCB to monitor air quality during Bhogi festival

An official from the TNPCB said the agency has been continuously creating awareness among the public, leading up to the festival. “An awareness campaign has been  conducted in all the district offices of TNPCB against burning household waste during this Bhogi. We have requested people not to burn e-waste or plastic and other harmful substances,” said the source. In addition to the awareness programmes, the TNPCB will also monitor the ambient air quality before and during the festival of Bhogi. 

“The pre-Bhogi monitoring was done on January 10 from 8 am to the same time on January 11. The Bhogi monitoring has started from 8 am on January 12 and will continue till January 13, 8 am,” said the official. The monitoring will be done manually in all 15 zones of the city. “There are five stations in Ambattur, four in Manali, and the remaining  six in other parts of Chennai. 

The monitoring is done manually using the Respirable Dust Samplers (RDS) on the rooftops or open terraces. The air quality will be monitored for PM10, PM2.5 as well as sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. The data will be analysed and then put up on the website,” concluded the official. Officials from Chennai Corporation likewise have been holding awareness campaigns across the city.  

At an event held at Sarada Vidhyalaya Girls Higher Secondary School  and Vidyodaya School, officials urged the students to refrain from burning tyres, tubes and plastic as the fumes would harm the environment and also cause health problems. Over 3,000 students attended the awareness campaign.