Mumbai, Oct 28 (IANS): Under fire from locals over dumped red mud on the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Park and the resultant air pollution that is playing havoc in the vicinity, the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation on Saturday announced immediate remedial measures to settle the dust and soothe frayed tempers.

To begin with, the BMC has started spraying nearly 3 lakh litres of water on the 28-acre ground – renowned as the ‘cradle of Indian cricket’ – from a network of 35 ring-wells that were built to harvest rainwater there in the past two years, said an official.

The civic body hopes that this will help settle the red-dust pollution that is choking the locality and also make efforts to increase the greenery on the ground to prevent dust from flying with the wind.

The ring-wells were constructed as part of the huge park’s beautification project initiated in 2021 during the Maha Vikas Aghadi government, when the red-earth was also dumped there to level the ground surface.

For a long-term solution to the air-pollution problem, the BMC plans to appoint an expert consultant to recommend measures and implement the same, according to officials.

After some local media reports, a BMC team led by Deputy Municipal Commissioner Ramakant Biradar had visited the ground on Friday when some residents staged a protest and demanded that the red-earth must be removed and the ground restored to its original status before the revamp project was taken up.

He discussed the problems with them and informed about the measures being taken by the BMC to resolve the issue.

An annual gathering at the ground is the upcoming Mahaparinirvan Day marking the death anniversary of B.R. Ambedkar on December 6, when lakhs of his followers will arrive from all over the state.

Accordingly, all the long-term dust pollution control related works will be taken up after that day, said the officials.