BMC starts washing Mumbai roads for curbing pollution due to dust

The Mumbai civic body has started washing the roads in the city as part of the measures to reduce air pollution which has become a matter of concern over the last few weeks. About 650 km of roads with the width of more than 60 feet along with the footpaths will be washed with water "on a regular basis", the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said in a release on Friday.

Thus, more than 30 percent of the road network in the city will be washed. The total length of roads in the city is around 2000 km. As many as 121 tankers will be deployed for this purpose.

Quoting a senior officer of the Solid Waste Management department, the release said the roads and footpaths will be swept before being sprayed with water.

Ward officers will select the roads with heavy traffic for washing, it said. Recycled water or water from local sources like lakes, ponds, wells and borewells will be used for road-washing.

The roads are normally washed during off-peak hours, especially between 3am to 6 am, but in some less crowded areas they will be washed in the afternoon or evening hours.

On Friday, about 45 km of roads were cleaned and washed, said an official.