City gasps for breath in residential areas

City gasps for breath in residential areas


Navya PK
First Published : 31 Jan 2009 10:57:00 AM IST
Last Updated : 31 Jan 2009 12:55:33 PM IST

BANGALORE: While Bangalore goes ahead with it’s ambitious infrastructure development projects, the air pollution levels here have correspondingly multiplied.

On a typical day, the average air pollution level in KR market area is 2.5-3 times the standard limit, according to data collected at the Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Station at the City railway station.

The maximum levels recorded here is around five times the standard limits. In fact, even the recorded minimum levels exceeds the acceptable limit.

The monitoring station, installed by the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB), indicate that pollution levels rocket during peak traffic hours. But large-scale construction activities, including that of the Metro Rail, is a major cause of pollution now, says a KSPCB official.

According to data collected on January 2 1 , RSPM(Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter) levels at City Railway Station recorded a maximum of 229.46 microgram/ cubic meter (ug/meter cube) at 10 pm, which is nearly five times the standard limit of 46.1 ug/m3. The average RSPM level through the day was 119.79 ug/m3, while the minimum level recorded was 53.78 ug/m3.

Sulphur dioxide and nitrogen gases were next with average levels being more than three times the standard limits. High levels of these gases can lead to heart and lung diseases, say experts.

However, it is not just areas with traffic bottlenecks that have alarming pollution rates.

The data recorded by the air quality monitoring station in SG Halli, a residential area, shows that the RSPM and SO2 levels here are 3-4 times the standard limits. The maximum RSPM levels recorded on January 21 was 72.65, which is nearly six times the residential area standard limit of 12.5. The maximum SO2 level recorded was 10.66 ug/ m3 while the standard is 1.3 ug/m3.