SPM concentration increasing in Bangalore

SPM concentration increasing in Bangalore
The Hindu

Average speed of vehicles has come down, increasing air pollution: JBIC

# Annual concentration of SPM is over the accepted norm at many places in Bangalore
# Mass transport will promote economic activity as well as improve the urban environment, says JBIC

BANGALORE: Bangalore's average annual atmospheric concentration of suspended particulate matter (SPM) exceeds that in Beijing and Bangkok, according to the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC).

This is surprising because against the 25.6 lakh vehicles in Bangalore, Bangkok had over 45 lakh vehicles in 2000(according to rrcap.unep.org/reports/soe/bangkok_air.pdf, a website linked to the United Nation's Environment Programme). According to a reliable estimate, the number of vehicles in Bangkok is nearly equal to the population of Bangalore (60 lakh) (http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/articles-58109_diesel.pdf.)

The number of vehicles in Beijing is as much as it is in Bangalore at present. But it is expected to reach 35 lakh in 2008, according to the Beijing Environmental Protection Administration

Explaining the background and the necessity for the metro rail in Bangalore, the JBIC, which is giving a soft loan of Rs. 1,800 crore for the project, pointed out that traffic congestion in the city had brought down the average speed of motor vehicles to 10 km to 12 km an hour, causing air pollution.

"Under these circumstances, there is a need to construct a mass rapid transport system, which will relieve traffic congestion and reduce the air pollution and other adverse impacts on the environment caused by vehicle emissions," a note put out by the JBIC says.

According to the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) annual report for 2003-04, the annual concentration of SPM is over the accepted norm of 140 microgram/m3 at Yeshwantpur, Town Hall, K.G. Circle and the Indian Express Circle.

The highest reading was taken at K.G. Circle (164.5 microgram/ m3).

At Victoria Hospital, which is considered a sensitive area where the accepted norm is 70 microgram/m3, the average was 65.2 microgram/m3. But the average recording on March 27 this year in the area was 258 microgram/m3, whereas the maximum recording was 351 in a cycle of 24 hours beginning at 6 a.m. on that day.

At AMCO Batteries (Mysore Road), the recordings for the day were 197 microgram/m3 (average) and 278 microgram/m3 (maximum).

The latest figures indicate that the figures for early 2006 have been higher than the average for 2003-04.

The JBIC note says that "the project aims to promote economic activity as well as improve the urban environment through reduction of traffic congestion and vehicle emissions in Bangalore by constructing the city's first mass rapid transport system."