With more vehicles in Kolhapur, air pollution levels rise

The Times of India , Thursday, June 05, 2014
Correspondent : Abhijeet Patil
KOLHAPUR: The increasing use of vehicles has led to consistent rise in air pollution levels, affecting the environment and health of the city. For the last six months, the suspended particulate matter (SPM) and the respirable suspended particulate matter (RSPM) levels have been much higher than the acceptable standards.

According to National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), the concentration of SPM in air should not exceed 150 micro gram per cubic metre and that of RSPM should not exceed 80 micro gram per cubic metre.

However, data from the pollution monitoring units installed at Dabholkar Corner and Mahadwar Road showed that since the last six months, the SPM level has reached 415 micro gram per cubic metre and the RSPM level has reached 132 micro gram per cubic metre.

The increasing concentration of the particulate matter in the air has significant impact on environment and local biodiversity.

City-based environmentalist Uday Gaikwad said, "The process of food formation among the plants stops when the concentration of carbon monoxide in the air increases. Also, it affects the process of pollination. Migration of birds has also been affected by rising air pollution. The city is witnessing continuous rise in temperature due to increase in carbon dioxide concentration caused by excess burning of fuel."

A major source of high RSPM levels is vehicles and an estimated 26,000 new vehicles are added to the city every year. Experts recommend lesser use of private vehicles, especially for short distance travel.

Anand Kamat, city-based physician and president of Kolhapur Medical Association, said, "Carbon monoxide released from vehicles causes depletion in oxygen concentration of the air and thereby causes difficulties in breathing. The people with bronchial arthritis and heart ailments are much susceptible to the smoke released from these vehicles especially at the signal stops."

He added, "Using public transport reduces the amount of fuel consumed by the private vehicles. Also, it increases human efficiency by resorting to walking for short distance travel."

Environmentalists and health experts said that the city needs a good public transport to encourage its use, there have hardly been any initiatives by the local authorities to promote the system.

Sanjay Bhosale, additional manager of Kolhapur Municipal Transport, said, "The public transport system in the city is being revamped and soon new buses will be added to the fleet. This will ensure comfortable and safer to travel. Also, we are going to change the bus routes so that people can use the service easily and frequently."

Along with increasing the potential of the public transport, the civic administration has plans to make major market and tourist places as no-vehicle zone. "We are thinking to make the road from Shivaji Putala to Bhavani Mandap near Mahalaxmi Temple as a no-vehicle zone. Also, some roads will be made one-way routes to reduce the traffic congestion at important junctions in the city," Bhosale added.

 
SOURCE : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolhapur/With-more-vehicles-in-Kolhapur-air-pollution-levels-rise/articleshow/36081234.cms
 


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