Pollution weighs heavily on City

B’lore air murkier than Chennai, H’bad
Pollution weighs heavily on City
Deccan Herald

Bangalore’s air is worse than that of its two famed southern cousins — Chennai and Hyderabad — according to the latest official data, which clearly points out the Garden City’s failure to check pollution .....

Bangalore’s air is worse than that of its two famed southern cousins – Chennai and Hyderabad – according to the latest official data, which clearly points out the Garden City’s failure to check pollution compared to other cities in Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

Bangalore’s annual level of breathable particles in the air – 71 micrograms per cubic metre – is higher than that of Coimbatore, Kozhikode, Hyderabad, Kottyam, Kochi, Tuticorin and Chennai, says the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in its latest air quality monitoring data. Vehicular and industrial pollutions are the two principal sources.

Only two south Indian cities – Thiruvananthapuram and Vishakhapatanam – have fared worse than Bangalore.

Chhattishgarh’s capital Raipur with annual particulate matter level of 275 micrograms per cubic mt tops the chart, which shows how the smaller cities with little government and societal interventions are way behind in curbing air pollution measures compared to the metros where at least some actions have been taken in the last five years. Ideally, the level should stand at 60 micrograms per cubic metre. “Bangalore has 30,000 diesel auto-rickshaws. In addition, the number of diesel cars and vehicles are increasing. This is evident from rising levels of nitrogen dioxide in the air,” Ms Anumita Roychowdhury, associate director at the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) in Delhi told Deccan Herald.

The CSE has used the CPCB data for coming out with a book titled The Leapfrog Factor: Cleaning the air in Asian cities, which was released by Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit last week.

Elaborating on Bangalore’s problems, Ms Roychowdhury said that though the administration has restricted plying of 15-year-old vehicles and follows a green tax policy, the burgeoning number of diesel cars tilts the balance unfavourably. “The percentage of diesel cars is estimated to rise from 19 per cent in 2005 to 46 per cent within the next 10 years,” she said, adding that that it’s time for the state to adopt Euro-IV level of emission norms. Bangalore has adopted Euro-II in 2003 and Euro-III in 2005.

Comparing the City with Hyderabad and Chennai, the CSE campaigner said proximity to the sea could be a reason for Chennai to have performed much better than Bangalore. “But Hyderabad is inexplicable. May be the locations of monitoring stations were not correct,” she said. The figures are 54 micrograms and 31 micrograms, respectively.

ISeven cities – six of them are south Indians in addition to Bhopal – have an annual particulate matter figure of less than 60 micrograms. “But that should not be the end of the road as the WHO has recommended revision of the emission norms till they reach the 12 micrograms level,” she added.

Poison LEVEL

Breathable particles in the air: 71 mg/m3

Ideal level: 60 mg/m3

The culprits: 30,000 diesel auto-rickshaws. Diesel cars, vehicles on the rise

Worse to come: Percentage of diesel cars to rise from 19% in 2005 to 46% in next 10 years

What can be done: Adoption of Euro-IV level of emission norms. Bangalore adopted Euro-II in 2003 and Euro-III in 2005.

mg/m3 is micrograms per cubic metre