Mira-Bhayandar: MBMC buys spray cannons worth Rs1.98 cr

Mira-Bhayandar: The Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) has rolled out five mist spray cannons to reduce dust and air pollution levels in the twin-city. A trial run of the cannons was conducted in the presence of civic chief Dilip Dhole on Friday.

“The civic administration purchased the five canons worth Rs1.98 crore on the virtue of funds received from the central government under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) and backed by the 15th Finance Commission. Two more truck mounted cannons will be inducted in the fleet soon.” said Mr Dhole.

While two stationary cannons will be installed at the dumping ground in Uttan, the other three which are mounted on portable trolleys will move around in vulnerable areas of the twin-city. The stationary cannons, having a spraying capacity of 100 m, will be filled with aromatic water for a dual objective of reducing pollution and mitigating stench. Similarly, the trolley mounted mini cannons can spray water up to 50 m and can reach up to 15 floors in a controlled manner to ensure that suspended dust particles get mixed with water and settle down.

“As of now we have identified 14 hotspots, especially those having heavy traffic movement, where every time a vehicle passes-by, dust clouds billow causing air pollution. Here the trolley mounted cannons will be put to use. Two more truck mounted cannons will be inducted in the fleet soon,” said MBMC Deputy Commissioner Sanjay Shinde. An additional feature of the truck mounted cannons is that they are equipped to carry 8,000 litre of water and armed with various attachments needed for sweeping and cleaning the roads.

The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change launched the NCAP in January 2019, with a time-bound strategy to tackle air pollution in the country.