City lungs need urgent relief from automobile pollution

By Akila Dinakar

CHENNAI, MAY 17. With Chennai's vehicle population more than doubling in 10 years, environmentalists want the new government to address urgently the mounting problem of automobile pollution that is choking the city's atmosphere.

In 1991, Chennai had 5,50,121 transport and non-transport vehicles, a number which shot up to 11,51,626 by 2000. In effect they are spewing 1,425 tonnes of pollutants into the air.

Though two-wheelers and cars together constitute a major chunk of the city traffic, accusing fingers point out to the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) buses, the Municipal Corporation and Metrowater lorries that release columns of thick black smoke.

Officials of a cash-strapped MTC say the reasons for pollution include improper calibration of the fuel injection pump and atomiser. The excess fuel delivered into the combustion chamber results in incomplete combustion. An unclean exhaust pipe, poor vehicle maintenance and adulterated diesel are other reasons, they say.

Although the average age of vehicles is around four years, several buses plying in North Chennai are over eight years old. Officials note that the cost of replacing the problematic engine crown and fuel injection pump could be several lakhs. ``We are forced to run the buses despite the pollution problem, as the public would otherwise be affected''.

The same is the case with Metrowater tankers and Corporation lorries. In the name of public service, the vehicles which are in a totally bad shape ply on city roads. ``Air pollution takes a back seat when the priority is supplying water or transporting garbage'', a transport department official said. The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) has told the Corporation to pull off some Onyx garbage vehicles that were spewing black smoke.

Ms. Sheela Rani Chunkath, Chairperson, TNPCB, said two-wheelers were not co-operating in obtaining the Pollution Under Control certificate. On a long term, her solution to address this problem is going in for increased non-motorised mass transport by tubes or trams. ``We are depending too much on motorised transport which is responsible for high levels of air pollution''.

The TNPCB officials contend that the powerful car lobby is pushing for more vehicles with marginal adjustments like Euro II or III which, they feel, will not solve the problem.

Their other suggestions include looking at LPG as alternative fuel for two-wheelers and auto-rickshaws - two major polluters; providing pre-mixed fuel, manufacture four-stroke instead of two- stroke two-wheelers and a ban on private diesel cars. Particulate Matter resulting from diesel emissions is highly carcinogenic.

Increasing mass transport and providing safe cycling tracks and pavement space for non-polluting modes of transport and declaring car-free zones are some immediate solutions to the problem, officials say.

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