Northeast Desk, 27th October: Meghalaya Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong responded to the Central Pollution Control Board’s recent air quality index report, which identified Byrnihat, Ri Bhoi, as the most polluted area in the country.
The report classified Byrnihat with an air quality index of 302 on October 25, 2023, categorizing it as ‘very poor’.
In contrast, nearby Guwahati recorded a ‘Satisfactory’ air quality index of 63, while Shillong was rated as ‘Good’ with an index value of 15.
Tynsong suggested that the pollution may be originating from factories and industries in Assam. He further stated that he has instructed the Chief Secretary to discuss the issue of Byrnihat’s pollution levels with his counterpart in Assam.
He explained, “In as far as Byrnihat is concerned, the left side while going to Guwahati is Meghalaya, and the right side is Assam. I think you must have seen quite a number of factories all along the right side, whereas from our left side, we have only a designated industrial estate, and we do also have factories, but they are well monitored by the MSPCB. As far as Assam is concerned, I have asked the Chief Secretary to take up this matter with the Assam counterpart to find out ways and means of monitoring because we can’t go and monitor those factories in Assam that were functioning till now.”
In the list released, Meghalaya’s Byrnihat was the most polluted city, with an AQI of 302, categorized as ‘very poor’. It was followed by Hanumangarh (297), Greater Noida (278), Faridabad (270), Manesar (251), Bahadurgarh (247), Delhi (243), Meerut (240), Ballabgarh (234), and several others.
As per the CPCB, the category ‘Good’ of the Air Quality Index (AQI) lies between 0-50, ‘Satisfactory’ between 51-100, ‘Moderate’ between 101-200, ‘Poor’ between 201-300, ‘Very Poor’ between 301-400, and ‘Severe’ between 401-500.