West Bengal choking on air pollution

With the West Bengal government struggling hard to implement the High Court ban on two-stroke autos and fifteen-year-old vehicles within 31st July, Sunita Narain, leading environmentalist, claimed that the city was fast choking to death with its detereorating air pollution levels.

Kolkata with a little less than 2,000 kilometers of road, hardly six per cent of its total area compared to Delhi which has 31,000 kilometre of roads would have to shift to better integrated, effecient public transport system in order to answer the deteriorating levels of pollution, said Narain, director, CSE said on the sidelines of press meet in Kolkata.

According to the Ministry of Urban Development, in Kolkata, almost 54 per cent use public transport, four per cent auto, and the rest other modes.

Total number of buses in Kolkata as in 2007 was 4,526 there are eight buses per lakh of people, compared to Delhi which has 78. "Public transport needs to be developed, I dont understand why trams, which can be upgraded at a lower cost are being phased out, in place of cars," Narain pointed out. A study released by the Delhi-based environment group Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) revealed that Kolkata's air pollution is heading for disaster with an annual average of respirable suspended particulate matter level exceeding the national standards in 2007 by 1.4 per cent.

Narain pointed out that the carcinogenic benzene levels in Kolkata found in the winter of 2006-2007 was as high as 36 ug/cum shockingly higher than Delhi which had larger number of vehicles. Kolkata is facing a major threat of aggravating air pollution, with the biggest challenge being the growth of private vehicles.

Nearly 65 per cent of the Kolkata's vehicular population and nearly 99 per cent of commercial vehicles are diesel-run, huge fleet of taxis and autos run on diesel or adulterated diesel which needs be replaced.