Air Quality Crisis Prompts Inspections Across Vizag
Collector-led inspections flag dust control failures at ports, plants
Visakhapatnam: A special task force committee, chaired by collector Harindra Prasad, is holding a series of inspections to tackle pollution issues in Visakhapatnam.
Over the past two days, such inspections at various government and private sector organisations led to detection of several flaws.
On Monday, officials from the pollution control board inspected multiple locations, including Hinduja National Power Corporation Ltd, Vizag General Cargo Berth Pvt Ltd, AMNS Port Ore Handling Complex, ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India Ltd, Rain CII Carbon (Vizag) Ltd, Coromandel International Ltd, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (Visakha Refinery), Visakhapatnam Port Authority, Vizag Sea Port, Adani Gangavaram Port, and Jindal Urban Waste Management (Visakhapatnam) Ltd.
Similar inspections were carried out on Sunday at several other establishments.
Officials noted issues related to stockyard maintenance at the ports of Coromandel and ArcelorMittal Steel, where inadequate tarpaulin coverings allowed dust to escape into the air. Six teams, led by state pollution control board joint chief Shankar, conducted these inspections.
At Visakhapatnam Port, fertilizers were found stored in sheds designated for coal. Despite water sprinkling, dust continued to rise across the yards. Vedanta Cargo’s storage areas lacked tarpaulin coverings, contributing to significant dust generation from coal and other goods unloaded from vehicles.
Additionally, large piles of gypsum at Coromandel were left uncovered, further increasing dust levels. At ArcelorMittal Steel, officials raised concerns about suspiciously low readings on the company’s ambient air quality monitoring systems, questioning their accuracy.
Nearby, garbage burning along Sheelanagar Road leading to the port created smoke that blanketed the area. High dust levels were also recorded at RCL, and Hinduja Power Corporation was found to lack adequate dust-control measures.
Industries were instructed to improve internal roads, cover open stacks, and perform regular sweeping and sprinkling.
The PCB teams also visited the Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring stations of the Visakhapatnam Port Authority and directed immediate calibration. “APPCB teams will continuously monitor the industries daily and will issue notices if they remain non-compliant,” stated EE, Mukunda Rao.
