Odisha government agencies mobilized urgently to enforce a raft of emergency restrictions in response to a prolonged and severe deterioration in air quality affecting urban centers and multiple districts, with the State Pollution Control Board issuing directives to collectors in 12 high-impact zones to immediately establish specialized city- and district-level task forces dedicated to pinpointing pollution hotspots and implementing targeted countermeasures.

In Cuttack, the district collector Dattatraya Bhausaheb Shinde promulgated a comprehensive notification imposing a nighttime ban on all construction activities from 6 pm to 10 am across municipal limits and other urban local bodies—exempting only major infrastructure projects—while completely prohibiting demolition works and earth-moving operations to curb particulate matter emissions.

The order further mandated Cuttack Municipal Corporation, National Highways Authority of India, and related entities to conduct water sprinkling operations three times daily on heavily trafficked roads prone to dust accumulation, alongside restricting daytime movement of trucks laden with coal, minerals, fly ash, or similar materials and requiring full tarpaulin coverage for any such vehicles permitted on national highways or key thoroughfares.

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Air quality indices in the Twin Cities remained alarmingly elevated for over a month, with Bhubaneswar registering AQI readings of 305 and 317 on January 1 and 2 respectively, and Cuttack recording 304 and 324 during the same period, though slight improvements were noted by Tuesday afternoon with figures at 238 and 200, underscoring the persistent health risks from fine particulate pollution.

While Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation disseminated detailed advisories encompassing public transport, industrial development, educational institutions, and building sites, and Forest, Environment and Climate Change Minister Ganesh Ram Singhkhuntia confirmed forthcoming formal restrictions on construction, contrasting delays in Khurda district highlighted ongoing coordination challenges as task forces geared up in districts such as Angul, Balasore, Ganjam, Jajpur, and Jharsuguda to tackle industrial and vehicular sources head-on.

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