Air pollution needs attention

The dry months in the cities can very well be dubbed the cruelest, given the fact that the burden of air-borne pollutants becomes heavier, as is palpable now, together with the incidence of increased respiratory diseases among young and old. This deserves serious and sustained attention, at least during the long season when the blessed cleansing property of the rains is on hold. Both Dhaka and Chittagong are so laden with pollutants as to turn them into virtual gas chambers, particularly when the air becomes cooler and traps all kinds of dusts, soots and fumes into heavy smog. The authorities concerned are seen simply taking a few perfunctory steps now and then, measuring air quality and condemning polluting vehicles. But, at the end of the day, neither policy nor behaviour change is noticeable long enough, that might help clean up the air. The number of motor vehicles continue to grow, and even condemned ones keep surfacing, spewing poisonous exhaust and getting, unfortunately, the culture-specific, no-emission rickshaw outlawed in many areas. Vehicular and industrial exhaust, construction work, waste dumping, incineration activities and the like all together compound the urban burden of suspended particulates in the dry, rainless period. One Air Quality Monitoring Project (AQMP), conducted some years ago, confirmed the same. Following the phase-out of two-stroke engines from Dhaka in the early part of this decade, there seemed to be a short respite, but these days it seems to be back to square one. According to WHO, fine suspended particulate matter (PM), measured in micrograms per cubic metre, should not be more than 2.5 mcm. But highly polluted cities have been allowed an 'interim target' of 70 mcm. Dhaka's load was found to be three times that amount! After the two-stroke ban, fine particulates had come down by fifty per cent -- from 266 mcm in 2003 to 147 mcm in 2004. But by 2008, AQMP measurements found that it had gone up again -- to 191.83 mcm. As for solid particles (PM -10), it was 330 mcm in 2003 and 238 in 2004, reaching 291 mcm in 2008. Much of this is blamed on the rise of diesel run buses and trucks, the generators that keep burning fuel due to load-shedding, and the large number of unfit and dilapidated vehicles that refuse to retire from the capital's roads, spewing out much more carbon monoxide and oxides of nitrogen and sulphur than new, reconditioned and well-maintained combustion engines do. Decision makers must focus more seriously on controlling per capita exhaust. Apart from commissioning good quality buses that can carry more commuters per trip, circular shuttle train services deserve to be put in place as soon as possible. Few would need to use private vehicles if these were run efficiently enough. Many enlightened cities the world over have long been encouraging walking and cycling, in addition to the option of using the least-polluting transport systems -- to manage traffic congestion, save time and money and keep motor pollution down. High time attitude towards the rickshaw were revised and space created for it to ply without fear of the baton.