All set to banish dust pollution from Punjab’s grain markets resulting in respiratory diseases, the State Government will install about 50,000 grain cleaning machines — providing relief to nearly three lakh directly-affected workers including farmers, labourers, arhtiyas, among others.
Punjab Pollution Control Board has developed certain types of machines that control the dust particles which pollute the air during the cleaning process of crops. These machines will help to keep the environment healthy inside and outside the mandis, said the Board chairman Kahan Singh Pannu.
Pannu said that the Board took air samples from the state’s 10 main grain markets and found that RPM (Respiratory Particulate Matter) was five to eight times more than the prescribed limit of 100 microgram per cubic meter.
“This dust pollution is a major danger, which is urgently needed to be curbed. After discussions with the farmers, commission agents and other stakeholders, the Board has developed a dust collector, which will install on mechanical grain cleaners. And these dust collectors can preserve 80 to 90 percent of the dust particles,” said Pannu.
He said that earlier, when the crops arrive in grain markets, lot of dust was flowing during cleansing process. “The dust not only increases the pollution but it also cause the spread of respiratory, allergy or lung diseases among the labourers, farmers, commission agents as well as the people living near the grain markets."
In all, there are 50,000 mechanical grain cleaners in Punjab’s grain markets, and six workers works on a single machine which means three lakh workers are affected by dust pollution.
With dust mounting machines fitted on mechanical grain cleaners, 90 percent dust will accumulate in it, thereby helping to keep the environment clean. The machine was tested in Asia's largest grain market Khanna, which is successful. Board is now taking steps to make this machine mandatory on mechanical grain cleaners in all the grain markets, said he.
Environment Minister Om Prakash Soni has congratulated the pollution control board on this remarkable achievement. He appealed to the Board to continue such efforts so that the 'Tandarust Mission' can achieve its desired results.