Breathe not the air .....
Saturday, 26 June 2010
Ameer Hamza
Whatever happened to the project that the ministry of environment had talked about around this time last year to clean up the air in Dhaka? The capital is so laden with pollutants that its ten million or so citizens are as oppressed as they would have been had they been trapped in some kind of gas chamber. We all know that prolonged exposure to heavily polluted air, be it indoors or outdoors, can cause many morbid illnesses including all kinds of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, as well as lung cancer. Who knows how many would pay such a penalty for living in the capital? It is already recognised as one of the world's most populated and polluted cities.
Many of the noxious gases and suspended particulates, needless to say, are generated by vehicular and industrial exhaust, construction work, waste dumping, incineration and similar activities. An Air Quality Monitoring Project (AQMP), a couple of years ago, claimed that the annual average particulate matter in Dhaka's air has been rising significantly, after a short respite, following the phase-out of two-stroke engines from Dhaka in 2003-2004. Nobody worried when these polluters were shifted to lesser cities, mind you!
According to WHO, to prevent ill health, fine suspended particulate matter (PM), measured in micrograms per cubic metre, should be no more than 2.5 mcm. For highly polluted cities, however, the interim target is 70 mcm but Dhaka today has about three times that amount. After the two-stroke engine 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 - to 191.83 mcm. As for solid particles (PM-10), it was 330 mcm in 2003 and 238 in 2004. It may be nearly 300 now - who knows, given the junks that continue to ply the streets of Dhaka in the name of public transport and the black exhaust they leave in their wake!
The rise of diesel-run buses and trucks and the large number of unfit and dilapidated vehicles on the capital's roads can't seem to be controlled. At least a quarter of the vehicles in Dhaka are said to be over 20 years old, and these obviously spew out more carbon monoxide and oxides of nitrogen and sulphur than new, reconditioned and well-maintained combustion engines.
Some years ago the environment ministry had tried to enforce the use of catalytic converters in all motor vehicles, supposedly to convert the poisonous exhaust into relatively harmless gas. Critics then had pointed out that it would not be feasible because the catalyst itself had a short life span. It was unlikely that vehicle owners would have replaced it even if it ceased doing the job. In fact, cost concerns and general apathy would have defeated the purpose - unless it was meant to help someone make a quick buck on the forced sale of catalytic converters!
Cynicism apart, since it is the very nature of motor vehicles to give off toxic fumes, the reasonable and pragmatic action for the decision makers would be to control per capita exhaust. Logically, a good quality fifty-seater bus, or better, a sturdy double-decker, pollutes less than a four-seater saloon car. So the move should be, to put a respectable, adequate and efficient public transport system in place, and, at the same time, discourage private cars from plying during peak hours. Many advanced cities have opted for this action to manage traffic congestion and keep car exhaust down.
The environment ministry perhaps could also exercise its authority in standardising the 'built environment' of vehicles. It needs no telling that except for a handful, the condition of most buses, both under private ownership and under BRTA, is not up to 'capital' standard and seem designed to punish passengers with very cramped and very dirty seats plus such poor suspension that commuters literally have to hang on to the seat in front for dear life!
Then again the seats are unnecessary bulky and high and covered in material that attracts grime and soot so much so that it takes only a few days for new upholstery to become filthy enough to soil your clothes. One wonders what the minimum standard of cleanliness is for these bus owners.
Worst of all, successive governments have ignored the necessity of constructing respectable bus stops that can shelter commuters during rain and shine. Doesn't Dhaka deserve a better, cleaner, more professional, transport service that could encourage car owners to use them rather than sit through horrific jams day in and day out?
Whatever happened to the project that the ministry of environment had talked about around this time last year to clean up the air in Dhaka? The capital is so laden with pollutants that its ten million or so citizens are as oppressed as they would have been had they been trapped in some kind of gas chamber. We all know that prolonged exposure to heavily polluted air, be it indoors or outdoors, can cause many morbid illnesses including all kinds of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, as well as lung cancer. Who knows how many would pay such a penalty for living in the capital? It is already recognised as one of the world's most populated and polluted cities.
Many of the noxious gases and suspended particulates, needless to say, are generated by vehicular and industrial exhaust, construction work, waste dumping, incineration and similar activities. An Air Quality Monitoring Project (AQMP), a couple of years ago, claimed that the annual average particulate matter in Dhaka's air has been rising significantly, after a short respite, following the phase-out of two-stroke engines from Dhaka in 2003-2004. Nobody worried when these polluters were shifted to lesser cities, mind you!
According to WHO, to prevent ill health, fine suspended particulate matter (PM), measured in micrograms per cubic metre, should be no more than 2.5 mcm. For highly polluted cities, however, the interim target is 70 mcm but Dhaka today has about three times that amount. After the two-stroke engine 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 - to 191.83 mcm. As for solid particles (PM-10), it was 330 mcm in 2003 and 238 in 2004. It may be nearly 300 now - who knows, given the junks that continue to ply the streets of Dhaka in the name of public transport and the black exhaust they leave in their wake!
The rise of diesel-run buses and trucks and the large number of unfit and dilapidated vehicles on the capital's roads can't seem to be controlled. At least a quarter of the vehicles in Dhaka are said to be over 20 years old, and these obviously spew out more carbon monoxide and oxides of nitrogen and sulphur than new, reconditioned and well-maintained combustion engines.
Some years ago the environment ministry had tried to enforce the use of catalytic converters in all motor vehicles, supposedly to convert the poisonous exhaust into relatively harmless gas. Critics then had pointed out that it would not be feasible because the catalyst itself had a short life span. It was unlikely that vehicle owners would have replaced it even if it ceased doing the job. In fact, cost concerns and general apathy would have defeated the purpose - unless it was meant to help someone make a quick buck on the forced sale of catalytic converters!
Cynicism apart, since it is the very nature of motor vehicles to give off toxic fumes, the reasonable and pragmatic action for the decision makers would be to control per capita exhaust. Logically, a good quality fifty-seater bus, or better, a sturdy double-decker, pollutes less than a four-seater saloon car. So the move should be, to put a respectable, adequate and efficient public transport system in place, and, at the same time, discourage private cars from plying during peak hours. Many advanced cities have opted for this action to manage traffic congestion and keep car exhaust down.
The environment ministry perhaps could also exercise its authority in standardising the 'built environment' of vehicles. It needs no telling that except for a handful, the condition of most buses, both under private ownership and under BRTA, is not up to 'capital' standard and seem designed to punish passengers with very cramped and very dirty seats plus such poor suspension that commuters literally have to hang on to the seat in front for dear life!
Then again the seats are unnecessary bulky and high and covered in material that attracts grime and soot so much so that it takes only a few days for new upholstery to become filthy enough to soil your clothes. One wonders what the minimum standard of cleanliness is for these bus owners.
Worst of all, successive governments have ignored the necessity of constructing respectable bus stops that can shelter commuters during rain and shine. Doesn't Dhaka deserve a better, cleaner, more professional, transport service that could encourage car owners to use them rather than sit through horrific jams day in and day out?