Faulty blowers in subway: the anger is blowing in the wind

MUMBAI: Instead of cooling down temperatures, four air blowers installed in the CST subway have got commuters all riled up.
The 7.5-horsepower blowers were installed two months ago to circulate fresh air in the subway under the busy traffic junction at Dadabhai Naoroji Road after commuters last summer complained of the oven-like heat.
But commuters and owners of stores in the underground plaza said that the blowers kicked up such a "deafening" roar, shopkeepers were forced to ask for the devices to be switched off."It was difficult to hear any conversation as one could only hear the roaring sound of the blowers," said M.B. Khetan, the general secretary of the CST Subway Shopkeepers Association.
The subway may be quiet again, but that isn''t the end of the problem. The workers in the 50 shops selling fast food, juices, icecreams, garments and lottery tickets are suffering from the conditions they experienced last summer. "Due to the heat and stuffiness in the subway, shop employees have complained of skin and respiratory problems," said Mr Khetan.
Mr Khetan''s association had demanded the installation of blowers, he said, "but we never imagined that the BMC would do a shoddy job". The installation cost Rs 5 lakhs. He said that contractors hired by the BMC''s mechanical department worked for two months to install the blowers. But the noise caused several shop employees and customers to complain of headaches and uneasiness, he said.
However, a spokesperson for Almonard Ltd, the firm appointed by the BMC to install the blowers, denied that there was a noise problem. "The sound accompanying the blowers is of a lower decibel," the spokesperson said. "I don''t understand why shop owners are complaining."
He said that a major portion of the blowers was concealed in the central dome to reduce the noise levels.
The subway shopkeepers'' association now plans to take a delegation to additional municipal commissioner Subrat Ratho, asking him to rectify the problem or provide an alternate solution. Said association''s treasurer Harish Ganatra, "The BMC should have ideally made the subway centrally air-conditioned."
Mr Ratho said he was unaware of the problem. "The blowers should be noise-free. I will ask my officials to look into the problem," he said. Adding to the heat in the subway are problem are the air conditioners by nine shops without authorisation. Besides, several hawkers have encroached in front of the shops, thereby making it inconvenient for commuters to walk.
Ward A committee chairperson Vinod Shekhar blamed the BMC''s mechanical department for the ‘faulty installation of blowers''. "They should have conducted a proper study and ensured that the blowers were noise-free," he said.
"Besides, the central dome of the subway has a glass roof which is a source of natural light and also serves as an emergency exit. How can they block this dome by installing the blowers? It is a faulty design." The BMC''s chief engineer (mechnical), A.G. Haldavanekar, was not available for comment.
The BMC collects Rs 1.5 lakhs from shop owners as maintenance fees every month. "We pay dearly for the maintenance, but what do we get in return? Skin rashes, asthma and migraines,"Mr Ganatra complained.