Deputy Chief Minister Jishnu Dev Varma will inaugurate the second Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Station set up at Bordowali Higher Secondary School in Agartala on Friday.
Chairman of the Tripura State Pollution Control Board- Prof. B.K. Agarwala will chair the inaugural ceremony to be held at Parivesh Bhavan, Gurkhabasti.
Chairman of Tripura State Higher Education Council Prof. Arunoday Saha, Deputy Mayor of AMC Manika Das Datta, Principal Secretary B.K. Sahu, and Director of Science, Technology and Environment Animesh Das will remain present.
The new facility installed by the Tripura State Pollution Control Board will provide real-time air quality data of ultra-dust particles, automobile and other industrial generated gases present in the air of Agartala round the clock on real-time basis, according to an official press release.
Two screens– one at the Bordowali School and the other at the City Centre, will display the air quality parameters and air quality index for the information of the general public.
The first such facility was inaugurated at Gorkhabasti in Agartala on January 5, 2020 with two LED screens functioning at the rooftops of the Sukanata Academy and the Radhnagar Bus Stand. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change partly funded the new facility.
The press note issued by the chairman of the Board said, new industries, automobile workshops, commercial centres, and a significant increase in the number of vehicles have come up over the past four years and these activities have direct and indirect effects on the environment.
“Environmental literacy is important for all the people, more so for children and youngsters who have to lead the society with new means and methods of handling emerging environmental issues like dust pollution, automobile emissions, noise pollution, solid wastes, plastic wastes, and many more,” the press release said.
Environment is the primary source of meeting our essential requirements. Clean air and clean water are vital for a healthy living of all of us as well as for all kinds of plants and animals. It is, therefore, necessary that correct information on air and water quality and noise level status are available on a real-time basis to all the stakeholders of the society.
Commissioning of the second air quality monitoring station at Bordowali in Agartala is a major step in that direction. Anyone can access the air quality data of Agartala city at anytime from anywhere in their internet-enabled mobile or computer by accessing Google search using the keywords “National air quality index”, and selecting state ‘Tripura’, City ‘Agartala, and station ‘Kunjaban’ or ‘Bordowali’, according to the press release.
Air quality data will display air quality index and measurements of seven parameters. Students of schools and colleges can prepare notes on the air quality on daily basis and determine patterns of dust pollution and gaseous pollution mostly produced from vehicles and industries like brick kilns and stone crushers. The experts viewed that real-time information would enable the teachers in schools and colleges to organize class-room discussion among students to raise awareness for a pollution-free environment.
