Artificial lungs put out in Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai to make people aware of the rising air pollution levels in the city has started turning black within just a week of installation.
The local administration had installed the pair of artificial lungs at Bandra Kurla Complex on Thursday, January 16, 2020. These lungs were made of high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters. Within three days, the colour of these lungs turned grey and within a week, on Tuesday, January 21, 2020, it turned completely black.
On Tuesday, the Air Quality Index (AQI) at the Bandra Kurla Complex, considered to be the commercial hub of Mumbai, crossed 340. AQI above 300 falls in the hazardous category.
Earlier in December last year, the AQI in Mumbai reached 200 for the seventh time, which is considered very unhealthy. The AQI crossed 200 mark 23 times and 300 mark eight times in Bandra Kurla Complex. Whereas, an AQI of 305 was recorded in North Mumbai’s Malad.
Like Mumbai, artificial lungs were installed in the streets of Delhi, Lucknow and Bangalore, so that people could be made aware of the damage caused by air pollution. Due to extreme pollution in Delhi, artificial lungs turned completely black within 6 days. In Lucknow, the colour of artificial lungs turned black in 5 days, while in Bangalore, these lungs were fine for 25 days.
‘Professionals, businessmen and corporates all travel in private cars. Three lakh cars come to the Bandra Kurla Complex every day. That has impacted air quality. The main cause of air pollution is vehicular emission. Second is dust from construction,’ NDTV quoted Bhagwan Kesbhat, the founder of an environmental organization called Waatavaran.Shikha Kumar, campaign manager for the programme told NDTV, ‘With all the Aarey protests in Mumbai, we now know for sure it wasn’t just about the 3,000 trees but it was about the cluster of greenery which is very important for a city like Mumbai.’
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