'Blame old diesel vehicles for increase in pollution'

If yoursquove noticed an increase in the amount of smog during your early morning walks blame it on the rise in air pollution caused by old diesel vehicles that are still running on city roads According to officials at the Pune Regional Transport department over 40 per cent of diesel vehicles are violating the stringent pollution norms set by the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board lsquoUnrsquoHoly smoke According to experts at the Automotive Research Association of India ARAI emission norms set in 2000 were less rigorous causing an increase in pollutants in the air Representation Pic According to these norms diesel vehicles that were manufactured before 2000 have to be either discontinued or converted to CNG For a city with a population of about 55 lakh vehicular population has already crossed the 35lakh mark Raising an alarm is the fact that old vehicles run on diesel are causing many health related problems including respiratory disorders among people ldquoBy the end of February vehicular population in Pune and PimpriChinchwad was 3490569 which has now crossed the limit of 35 lakh said Regional Transport Officer Arun Yeolau00a0 Yeola estimated that over 40 per cent of four wheelers including public and private automobiles like cars buses trucks tractors rickshaws and delivery vans run on diesel This is causing a rise in hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide in the air leading to lung disorders Officials from the RTO office Computer System Administration said ldquo6861 per cent of the transport vehicles are running on diesel whereas the percentage of dieselrun private vehicles is only 758 per centrdquo lsquoUnrsquohealthy issues Talking about the health hazards posed by rising pollution levels Dr Sandip Karmarkar ENT specialist said ldquoDue to air pollution there is a definite rise in nasal allergy and asthma related cases Every year there is about 5 to 10 per cent spike in the number of patientsrdquo u00a0This trend is on the rise in tier II cities such as Pune Surat Ahmedabad and Bangalore where vehicular traffic is increasing due to population influxu00a0 Mangesh Dighe Environment Officer Pune Municipal Corporation said ldquoAs more vehicles keep pouring in on city roads it is adding to an increase of particulate matter PM of 10 and 25 microns which is much more than the prescribed norm Though the nitrogen oxide NOX level is below the standard norms sulfur oxide SOX has increased over a period of timerdquo Maharashtra Pollution Control Board had imposed stringent norms to control air pollution in Pune city Presently Euro 4 or Bharat IV vehicles mdash that are considered to be ecofriendly mdash are allowed on city roads There are about 211 lakh vehicles that were manufactured before 2000 and are still in use despite heavy pollution tax imposed by the government ldquoIn order to reduce the toxicity in diesel a new policy of low sulfur content diesel has been made available in the cityrdquo Dighe added Quality check To measure the air quality in Pune and PimpriChinchwad region the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology IITM has decided to install 10 air quality monitoring stations in the city These are located at Bharati Vidyapeeth on Satara Road Vasantdada Suger Institute mdashManjari Simla OfficemdashShivajinagar Lohiya Udyanmdash Hadapsar Indradhanush Environmental CentremdashNavi Peth and remaining will be at Yerawada Pimpri Chinchwad and Bhosari area u00a0 mdash Inputs by Anup Satphaleu00a0