GREEN CAUSE: The electro-magnetic display board that was installed at Anil Kumble Circle in Bangalore on Sunday. — Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

BANGALORE: The city got its first state-of-the-art electro-magnetic display (EMD) that will indicate air quality, pollution levels, and weather parameters, apart from time, temperature and humidity.

The EMD was inaugurated by Minister for Forests C. Chennigappa at the Anil Kumble Circle here on Sunday.

The EMD shows the presence of suspended particulate matter (SPM), oxides of sulphur and nitrogen and carbon monoxide in the air. The data will be provided by the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB), while the EMD has been set up by the Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL) as part of its corporate social responsibility programme.

GAIL has already set up an Air Pollution Related Disease Diagnostic Centre at the city-based Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases Hospital.

KSPCB chairman H.C. Sharatchandra noted that in the past decade, Bangalore had become globally known as the Silicon Valley of India, but along with this progress had come the dubious distinction of being one of the 10 most polluted cities in the country.

The burgeoning number of vehicles in the city was the single largest cause of air pollution and related diseases. In fact, a World Bank study had found that 800 out of every 10,000 children born in India die due to pollution-related diseases.

The KSPCB, the agency that monitors, regulates and controls pollution, gathers data that helps estimate the damage to the environment, and come up with appropriate solutions.

Monitoring air quality

The board currently had air quality monitoring mechanism at six locations in the city, and Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy recently announced a 14-point programme to bring down air pollution, Mr. Sharatchandra said.

Project

GAIL chairman and managing director Mohan R. Hingnikar said Karnataka had been identified by GAIL for the implementation of the City Gas Distribution Project.

GAIL had signed an MoU with Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. to form a separate joint venture company for implementation of city gas projects in the State to supply piped natural gas (PNG) to domestic, commercial and industrial customers, and compressed natural gas (CNG) and Auto LPG for automobiles.

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