India

Kolkata to Add Rose Water to City Mist Sprays, Environmentalists Call for Root‑Cause Measures

By PTI

West Bengal Municipal Affairs and Urban Development Minister Agnimitra Paul announced that rose water will be mixed with the water used for mist spraying on special occasions, including festivals such as Kali Puja. The misting, which is already employed by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) to reduce dust particles in areas with high Air Quality Index (AQI) readings, will now also disperse a pleasant fragrance. Paul said the initiative aims to make the city cleaner, fresher and more fragrant, and noted that during a recent visit to London she observed AQI levels below 10 in some areas, compared with Kolkata’s AQI rarely falling below 200.

Environmentalist Somendra Mohan Ghosh criticised the proposal, arguing that cosmetic interventions like rose water do little to address the underlying pollution problem. He said the fragrance would vanish within minutes and that Kolkata needs actions that target the sources of pollution, such as ageing diesel and petrol vehicles, coal‑fired cooking stoves at roadside eateries, and other major contributors to PM2.5, PM10 and black carbon emissions. Ghosh suggested stopping coal‑fired stoves, encouraging LPG or electric cooking for small vendors, and deploying 100 water cannons to wash roads, flyovers and dust‑prone corridors.

On Sunday, ahead of Kali Puja and Deepavali, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) recorded Kolkata’s average AQI at 165 (moderate). West Bengal Pollution Control Board stations showed variations, with the highest reading of 232 (poor) on November 7 at Jadavpur and Bidhannagar, while other sites such as Ballygunge, Fort William, Rabindra Bharati University, Rabindra Sarobar and Victoria reported moderate air quality. The story was published on November 8, 2026, 08:02 pm IST.