Now is the time to curb pollution

Hyderabad: With vehicular pollution in Hyderabad taking a quantum leap in the past two decades, environmentalists are demanding that the government act before till the situation worsens like in the case of New Delhi and act quickly as well as with force.

As per a recently published report by the Central Pollution Control Board, 212 tonne of CO per day is produced in the city due to vehicular emissions. This was 126.17 tonne in 1994, almost 70 per cent less than what it is now.

It is the same case with hydrocarbons, which is one of the chief reasons for global warming. Particulate matter has increased from 1.94 to 11.9 tonne per day in the past two decades.

The study by Central Pollution Control Board also revealed that many old vehicles plying on city roads was posed a serious problem.

The study was conducted in 2015 in five other important cities – Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, Patna and Solapur.

In 2010, the Bharat Stage-IV vehicular emission control norms were implemented in the country, which is more rigorous than the earlier stipulations. However, 36 per cent of two wheelers, 27 per cent of cars, 19 per cent of three wheelers and buses and a meager 10 per cent of trucks in Hyderabad are of post-2010 make.

In the post-2010 segment, Ahmedabad fares the best in two wheelers (44 per cent), three wheelers (61 per cent), cars (63 per cent) and buses (41 per cent) and Patna in trucks (45 per cent).

Taking measures does show results, an example of which is the decrease in sulphur dioxide from 1.56 tonne per day in 1994 to 0.5 tonne per day in 2015 due to measures taken by the government over the years to reduce sulphur content in vehicle fuel.

Environmental scientist with the Council for Green Revolution, Mr Uma Maheshwar Reddy said, “The state government should not wait any longer and start rolling out reforms like the odd-even formula of New Delhi in Hyderabad. Otherwise it will be too late. It should not wait for Metro Rail to start and must increase the number of buses in RTC's fleet for efficient connectivity.”