Greater Noida’s air quality deteriorated sharply on Friday, with the city recording an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 346, up 127 points from the previous day and placing it in the ‘very poor’ category, according to a report by Navbharat Times – Noida. The report said Greater Noida ranked as the most polluted city in the country on that day, while Noida’s AQI crossed 280.
The rise came before Diwali, which the report states will be observed on November 8 this year. Greater Noida’s AQI was recorded at 219 on Thursday before climbing to 346 on Friday. Singrauli in Madhya Pradesh was reported to be second on the pollution list with an AQI of 312.
Pollution levels also varied considerably across Greater Noida’s monitoring locations. The AQI at Knowledge Park 3 was recorded at 337, while Knowledge Park 5 recorded 376, according to the report. These readings indicate that pollution levels were particularly high in areas with ongoing construction and heavy movement of vehicles and materials.
The report pointed to dust-control practices on Jalpura Road in Greater Noida West as one of the local concerns. It said the Greater Noida Authority was using manual sweeping instead of machines in parts of the area. Residents reported that sweeping was lifting dust from roads where soil had accumulated, while water sprinkling was not being carried out. Families living in nearby housing societies were reported to be facing difficulty because of the dust.
The Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board told the publication that, in view of the worsening pollution, all concerned parties had been instructed to strictly follow the first stage of the Graded Response Action Plan, or GRAP. The Greater Noida Authority was also reported to be arranging water sprinkling at construction sites and on roads.
Vehicle movement has emerged as another pressure point in Sector 150, where residents of around 20 housing societies have raised concerns about heavy trucks and dumpers carrying construction material. According to the report, residents said the vehicles were creating dust, affecting road safety and moving through internal roads during peak hours. They planned to hold a protest outside Samriddhi Market at 11 am on Friday.
Residents also alleged that the absence of designated routes for heavy construction vehicles was increasing pressure on internal roads. They said a height barrier near ATS Pristine on Pushta Road was diverting heavy vehicles towards residential streets. Advocate Aman Nijhawan was quoted as saying that the barrier, installed to protect the access route of one society, had created difficulties for about 20 nearby societies.
The reported spike places road-dust control, construction logistics and enforcement of pollution measures at the centre of Greater Noida’s immediate air-quality challenge. The next steps identified in the report are stricter implementation of GRAP Stage 1, water sprinkling on roads and construction sites, and the residents’ proposed protest over heavy-vehicle movement.
