Amid their fight with BMC and the state government over shifting of the bio-medical waste treatment plant from their backyard, Govandi and Deonar locals have taken it upon themselves to arrange indoor air purifiers. The residents have bought two air purifiers and will decide on getting more if these two work in dealing with air pollution. One of the units has been installed at the New Sangam Welfare Society office and the other at a residence in Govandi.

“We got these two units at a nominal price from a contact who wanted to help us. The same device will cost anywhere between Rs 30,000 to Rs 35,000 each. We want to see if these indoor air purifiers help us in any way. With winter and cold weather, air pollution levels rise every year. The proposal seeking environmental clearance for shifting the SMS Envoclean biomedical waste treatment plant to Khalapur was rejected, so it will not shift anytime soon. We have already installed portable AQI monitoring devices in a few of our households. If the air purifiers are effective, we will contribute and get these units for more households,” said Faiyaz Alam Shaikh, a Shivaji Nagar resident and founder-president of NGO New Sangam Welfare Society.