IIT Hyderabad and TGPCB Study Identifies Road Dust as Major Air Pollutant

A study conducted jointly by the Telangana Pollution Control Board (TGPCB) and IIT Hyderabad has highlighted road dust as a significant contributor to particulate matter pollution across Hyderabad. The findings were shared during a workshop titled 'Improving the efficiency of the mechanical road sweepers to mitigate the road dust and to improve the air quality'.

According to the study, road dust accounts for approximately 32 percent of PM10 emissions and 26 percent of PM2.5 levels. Researchers assessed silt removal efficiency and found that silt deposition on roads currently ranges between 5 and 15 g/m², significantly higher than the ideal target of less than 3 g/m².

The workshop focused on strategies to improve the performance of mechanical road sweepers to mitigate dust accumulation and enhance urban air quality.

The event saw participation from key academic and municipal officials, including Prof. Qureshi from IIT Hyderabad, TGPCB Chief Environmental Engineer B Raghu, National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) Nodal Officer Dr D Prasad, and ES Jayasri. Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) Additional Commissioner Ravi Kiran, along with Raghu Prasad of MMC and Venugopal Reddy of CMC, were also present to discuss the operational findings and measures.