GURUGRAM: Manesar was as polluted as Gurugram during Diwali week, shows data collected by Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB), who began recording pollution data in Manesar for the first time recently. However; it fell drastically after Diwali.According to data recorded by the city’s second continuous air quality monitoring station at IMT Manesar on Diwali, the average 24-hour level of PM2.5 and PM10 stood at 122 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m³) and 245 µg/m³, respectively.Both pollutants were twice as high as the permissible limit. A day later, the PM2.5 level stood at 121 µg/m³.Levels of other pollutants, including the carcinogenic sulphur dioxide and benzene, were slightly higher in Manesar than Gurugram on Diwali and the day after.On Diwali, the highest level of benzene in Manesar’s atmosphere was 7.3 µg/m³, while sulphur dioxide was 89 µg/m³. In contrast, the highest levels of the two carcinogens recorded in Gurugram stood at 6.4 µg/m³ and 70.98 µg/m³, respectively.Overall, though, Manesar showed a big decline in levels of particulate matter after Diwali. PM2.5 level fell by as much as 60% to 49 µg/m³ on November 9, which was well within the permissible limit of 60 µg/m³. Thereafter, PM2.5 level remained below 100 µg/m³.Experts said that this improvement was a result of strict implementation of graded response action plan ( GRAP ) measures under the ‘Severe’ category since Diwali, which included closing down of highly polluting industries.Out of the 833 polluting industries in Gurugram and Manesar, about 250 are in the red (highly polluting) and orange (polluting) categories.“With the highly polluting industries shut down after Diwali, emissions in the lower atmosphere fell. Also, movement of heavy vehicles going towards Delhi was restricted. That is why we saw a drop in pollution since Diwali,” said K K Yadav, former town planner and professor at Amity University, Manesar.Industrialists disagreed with the prognosis, claiming Chhatt Pooja had a bigger role to play in the fall in traffic volumes and industrial activity, than GRAP.“Firstly, only those units that use boilers and steam coal were shut down under GRAP. Secondly, factories in Manesar and Gurugram have been strictly following air pollution norms for a while now. The data recorded by online monitoring systems installed by polluting industries show emission levels are within prescribed limits. So we can say industries are not the source of pollution in Manesar,” said Vikas Jain, president of Gurugram Chamber of Commerce and Industry.He added, “If pollution levels fell after Diwali, that’s due to meteorological factors and decline in stubble burning in Haryana and Punjab.” The Met department concurred.An official at the department added that wind direction has helped disperse particulate matter from Manesar towards Delhi and Noida.“Currently, the wind is flowing from west to east. It is dispersing particulate matter from Manesar and Gurugram to cities to their east. An increase in wind speed and rains on Tuesday also helped to bring down AQI. However, the situation may change soon, as a dip in temperature is expected,” the official said.Both experts and industrialists agreed a clearer picture will be visible only after a month.“Installation of the second air quality monitoring machine is a welcome step. However, it’s too early to compare air pollution in Manesar with that of Gurugram. We should wait for traffic volumes to get back to normal after Chhatt Pooja. I think we’ll get a clearer picture only after a month,” said Debjani Ghosh, an environmental engineer.“The air quality monitoring machine at Manesar will help burst the myth that its industry is a prime source of air pollution, given that air pollution levels in Manesar are far below Gurugram’s, because most units are within the HSIIDC area and have to strictly adhere to emission standards. We should wait for at least for a month and then make the comparison,” said Praveen Yadav, president, Gurugram Udyog Association.HSPCB regional officer Shakti Singh told TOI, “While closure of industries might have had a slight impact on pollution levels, it’s a fact that Manesar is less polluted than Gurugram. PM2.5 level is expected to fall further, as much of the traffic will soon be diverted to KMP, which will bring down other pollutants that are caused by vehicular traffic.” The continuous air quality monitoring station at Manesar is yet to be connected to CPCB’s online system, as HSPCB is yet to avail a broadband connection, but it’s likely to be connected with the CPCB website within a couple of weeks.

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