ANNOUNCEMENTS
Lucknow: The School of Management Sciences (SMS), Lucknow, organised a two-day national conference focusing on sustainable business approaches for a collective future.
At the collaborative event with the Indian Society for Training & Development (ISTD) and the Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA) , institute director Ashish Bhatnagar said, "Sustainability is not an option, it is a necessity."
Speakers, including former chief secretary of Uttar Pradesh R Ramani, former director of IIM Kozhikode Krishna Kumar, and TERI SAS New Delhi Associate Professor, Shruti Sharma Rana, led discussions on sustainable finance, circular economy, and ESG practices. TNN
Read MoreProminent environmental experts have challenged the Central Pollution Control Board's (CPCB) report declaring Triveni Sangam water unfit for bathing during the Mahakumbh. The experts argue CPCB report is incomplete citing missing data on nitrates and phosphates.
New Delhi: Prominent environment experts have countered Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) report claiming poor quality of water at Mahakumbh. The CPCB report said that Triveni Sangam water is not fit for bathing. The CPCB cites high levels of biological oxygen demand (BOD) in the water.
Prof Umesh Kumar Singh, who teaches at Centre of Environmental Science at the University of Allahabad, said that water at Sangam is fit for taking a bath keeping in view the current set of data.
‘CPCB needs to work more’
“A few days back, the Centre Pollution Control Board (CPCB) report stated increased levels of faecal coliform (bacteria) in the water. I believe that the CPCB needs to work more on the report because their data is not complete,” Professor Singh said. “The level of nitrates and phosphates are missing from the report. The level of dissolved oxygen in the water, as shown in the report, is good. And on the basis of the current data, I can say that the water at Triveni Sangam is fit for taking a bath,” Professor Umesh Singh told ANI.
“Report very inconsistent”
Similarly, another professor RK Ranjan termed CPCB report “very inconsistent”. According to RK Ranjan, who is Associate Professor Central University of South Bihar, the Central Pollution Control Board data is very inconsistent and to conclude that water is unsafe to bathe in would be to say things in haste.
He added, “There is not enough data to conclude that the waters in Prayagraj are not safe to bathe in. Similar data can be seen from Garhmukteshwar, Gazipur, Buxar and Patna. There could be many reasons for this to happen. Among others one reason behind this is when a large number of people bathe in the same waters. It also matters from where and when the sample of water is taken.”
“Coliform bacteria is nothing new”
Dr. Amit Kumar Mishra, another environmental scientist from JNU, also holds the same opinion. Mishra says the presence of coliform bacteria is nothing new and called for new data set.
I would say we need more data sets, we need more measurements. There is a huge number of population which is taking bath at Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj. If you talk about the coliform bacteria, it is nothing new. If you see the data of the Shashi Snan peaks, you will see that the E.Coli bacteria peaks at that time. So, I would say that we need more data sets, we need more parameters, we need more monitoring stations, especially down the stream,” Amit Kumar Mishra said.
Prof. Chander Kumar Singh of TERI School of Advanced Studies also said that many parameters are not present in the CPBC report.
“In the CPCB report available, many parameters are not present. I believe better information can be given if more data and facts come out,” Prof. Chander argued.
https://x.com/ANI/status/1892903056926486548
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To check the high pollution levels, the Haryana State Pollution Control Board officials on Friday issued directions that recommendations of the sub committee on graded response action plan (Grap) on pollution must be implemented strictly.
Gurugram: For the second consecutive day, pollution levels remained in the severe category in the city, which forced the pollution authorities to recommend a series of measures, including reducing number of private vehicles on the road and limiting outdoor activities.
The AQI was recorded at 441 on Saturday, slightly lower than the 448 registered on Friday. The air quality monitoring stations in the city recorded a reading of 451 at Gwal Pahari, 438 at Teri Gram, 445 at Vikas Sadan, and 431 at sector 51. Experts said a combination of low windspeed, temperature drop and farm fires contributed to severe pollution levels.
To check the high pollution levels, the Haryana State Pollution Control Board officials on Friday issued directions that recommendations of the sub committee on graded response action plan (Grap) on pollution must be implemented strictly.
The sub-committee on Grap, in a written order, advised the government and private offices to reduce vehicle use by at least by 30% by focusing on work from home option, promoting car pooling and optimising field activities. It also advised people to reduce outdoor activities and minimise exposure to pollutants. The board, however, directed all implementation agencies to closely monitor actions being taken by various agencies and submit daily report to respective pollution boards.
“Some of the directions under Grap are mandatory and some are advisory in nature, like pushing for more public transport and reducing use of private vehicles. The implementing agencies must monitor action taken and ensure compliance,” said S Narayanan, member secretary, Haryana State Pollution Control Board.
Gurugram’s air quality plummetted into the “very poor” AQI on Diwali, on November 4. For the next three days, the air quality dipped into “severe” category, which implies that the air quality is hazardous and may cause respiratory effects even to healthy people and serious health impacts to people with lung or heart diseases. Gurugram’s air improved slightly to “very poor” on November 8, and has now deteriorated again into the “severe” category.
On Saturday, the IMD recorded wind speed at 12-13kmph, double the 6kmph recorded on Friday. The minimum temperature touched 11.3 degrees Celsius (°C) on Saturday, three degrees lower than normal, and the maximum temperature was 25.5°C.
Dr Anurani Sharma, associate professor, Teri School of Advanced Studies, said that the dip in temperature will be a regular feature for the next 15-20 days as a result of which the pollutants in the air will not dissipate and AQI will remain in the ‘severe’ or ‘very poor’ category. “The increase in wind speed can help in moving the pollutants away from Delhi-NCR but the situation is likely to remain grim as the local pollution is quite large and urgent steps are needed to curb it,” she said.
In a related development, the department of town and country planning swung into action on Saturday and issued notices to 10 owners in DLF phase one for violating NGT norms and not taking measures to check pollution during construction.
“The plot owners have kept the building material in open and have not covered the construction site with proper tin sheds and were causing pollution in the nearby areas. Considering the condition of Air Quality department is keeping vigil on the construction sites and violators are being penalised ,” said RS Bhath, district town planner, enforcement.
