Thane Municipal Corporation to install air purifiers

District’s Municipal Corporation to install air purifiers at chronic traffic junctions

India: Rising pollution level, increasing air borne diseases in Thane district has forced the district municipal corporation to take precautionary measures such as installation of air purifiers at major traffic junction where the quality of air is posing a threat to motorist and residents.  

The district has been witnessing a hike in the air pollution for a quite long period of time. Teen haka, one of the most congested spots in the city showed alarming presence of toxic gases and particles four times more than prescribed limit.   

Municipal Corporation has planned to install 200 air purifiers on road dividers, key junctions, dense streets etc. Air purifiers would contain a three-layer filtering process, which will trap pollution particles and allergens like pollen, cement and construction dust. To survey the traffic junctions and road stretches, the municipal corporation has roped in a Pune based company. 

TechSci Research depicts that the poor air quality leads to major respiratory problems because of which Air Purifiers are gaining popularity and being accepted and installed. Further, green activists from Mumbai have welcomed the move. However, Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) has clarified that the minute particles will still be able to escape from the filters but officials from Mumbai said that they are open to explore the possibilities of adapting advanced technology to provide pure air at the junctions. These initiatives are set to increase the awareness of air purifiers in India.

According to a recently published report by TechSci Research, “India Air Purifiers Market Forecast & Opportunities, 2011-2021”, the market for air purifiers in India is projected to reach US $ 209 million by 2021. Residential as well as commercial sectors are anticipated to generate high demand for air purifiers in India during the forecast period, due to rising disposable income levels of consumers and increasing awareness among people about benefits of using air purifiers. HEPA combined with Activated Carbon based air purifiers dominated air purifiers market in India on account of their high efficiency in removing particulate matter, odor and other harmful gases. Adoption of HEPA based air purifiers in the country is growing considerably in households, embassies, healthcare institutes, and other commercial spaces, and this trend is expected to continue over the next five years.