Ahmedabad: AMC issuedclosure notices to 19 industrial units in the city’s east for causing air pollution through illegal operations.An AMC official stated, “On Saturday, AMC’s Air Quality Management Cell (AQMC) issued closure notices to units on GIDC campuses in Odhav, Naroda, and Vatva, and to units on Narol-Sarkhej Highway, and in Kathwada, among other places.”The official said, “Strict enforcement is ongoing to stop oil burning, tyre burning, and other environmentally harmful practices.”Under this drive, the official said, site inspections were carried out, and illegal activities were identified.AQMC conducts scientific evaluations of various air pollution causes in collaboration with Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB), solid waste management department, and health department.During site inspections on Saturday, several factors adversely affecting air quality were identified, including black smoke emissions from chimneys, strong chemical odours around units, open waste disposal, and waste burning.Considering the severity of the situation, joint teams from various departments are regularly conducting special nighttime inspections.The official said: “Continuous monitoring through regular surveillance and inter-departmental coordination is also being maintained to ensure these illegal activities do not resume.”The main objective is to control local air pollution sources in the Pirana area and improve air quality in nearby residential and industrial zones, the official said.Box:Smart sensing project implementedAhmedabad: To monitor air pollution in Ahmedabad, AMC, in collaboration with IIT-Kanpur, has implemented the Smart Sensing and Digital Intelligence Project.Under this initiative, the city conducts continuous scientific assessments of air pollution sources using an advanced mobile, real-time source apportionment laboratory.Based on this data, major pollution sources are identified to implement control measures.Hyper-local monitoring networks help identify pollution hotspots across different city zones, enabling targeted control measures.Real-time source apportionment studies scientifically home in on major sources of PM2.5 and air pollution, such as vehicular traffic, road dust, construction activities, industrial emissions, and biomass burning.Additionally, an AI-based 72-hour air quality forecasting model being developed by IIT-Kanpur will provide advance predictions of potential pollution spikes.
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