BMC rolls out citywide road washing to curb construction dust in Mumbai

Clearer skies over Chowpatty on Wednesday as Mumbai recorded a ‘satisfactory’ AQI reading; (inset) water misting in progress at Elphinstone bridge worksite earlier this month to reduce construction dust and improve air quality. Pics/Ashish Raje

With thousands of construction sites active across Mumbai and road works peaking outside the monsoon months, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is rolling out a citywide road-washing drive lasting about 150 days each year to reduce dust pollution and stabilise air quality levels.

The civic body will deploy high-pressure water tankers and misting machines across all wards, focusing on areas with heavy construction activity where dust accumulation on roads and traffic movement significantly worsen particulate pollution.

View of the sky over Chowpatty on Wednesday, with air quality in the satisfactory range

Why the move now

>> Construction season lasts from October to May
>> Monsoon halt: July to September
>> There are 2400+ active citywide construction sites
>> 629 road projects are currently underway
>> Dust from these sites settles on roads and gets resuspended by traffic, worsening local air quality

A mist cannon sprays water at the Elphinstone bridge construction site in Prabhadevi, with the BMC stepping up dust-control measures earlier this month

AQI snapshot

>> AQI on Wednesday: 70 (Satisfactory)
>> Green days in February: 2
>> Major pollutant: Carbon monoxide from vehicles

Tankers to be deployed

>> 2000-litre
>> 5000-litre
>> 10,000-litre
>> Each tanker is expected to make up to 125 trips daily, using high-pressure jets to remove dust from carriageways

How the road-washing drive will work

>> Duration: ~150 days annually
>> Focus: Construction-heavy zones and polluted corridors

Misting machines to supplement

The BMC is in the process of procuring 28 misting machines.
Unlike road washing, these machines spray fine droplets into the air so suspended dust particles settle

Authorities speak

Kiran Dighavkar, deputy municipal commissioner
‘This is a mandate to safeguard the environment in the vicinity of construction sites. Roads are washed to remove dust from carriageways.'

A civic official, from SWM department
‘We do this to keep AQI under control in non-monsoon months. At present, the BMC sprays water on roads around construction zones'