New Delhi, March 10 The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has intensified its efforts to mitigate dust under the ongoing 10-day "Dust-Free Delhi" campaign, with intensified mechanized sweeping operations across the capital leading to the collection of around 150 tonnes of dust every alternate day, according to an official statement.
Under the program, 52 mechanical road sweeping machines (MRS) have been deployed for the mechanized cleaning of Public Works Department (PWD) roads with a width of 18 meters and above, the statement issued on Tuesday read.
With the existing fleet, nearly 3,400 km of PWD roads are being swept mechanically on alternate days, with around 150 tonnes of dust collected during each sweep, according to the statement.
Officials said that part of the collected dust is transported to the construction and demolition (C&D) waste processing plant at Shastri Park, while the remaining quantity is disposed of at designated MCD sanitary landfill sites, it read.
As part of the drive, the civic body said it has revised the operational shift timings of mechanical sweepers from night hours to daytime to allow improved monitoring and operational efficiency. The operational duration of the machines has also been increased from eight hours to 10 hours per day, the statement read.
To further strengthen dust suppression measures, the MCD has also deployed 28 mobile water-tank sprinklers mounted with anti-smog guns on major roads.
The working hours of these sprinklers have been extended from eight to 10 hours per shift to increase road coverage by nearly 20 per cent and help curb dust pollution across key stretches in the city, according to the statement.