Checking Vehicular Pollution Raise People’s Awareness

By Uttam Maharjan

ENVIRONMENTALISTS are now clamouring for the preservation of the environment all over the world. Human activities are responsible for the deterioration of the environment. Human activities carried out for the sake of bringing about human welfare and benefits that have made deleterious effects on the environment.

Air Pollution

The air environment in Kathmandu has been severely affected over the past few years. Factory effluents and vehicular pollutants may be considered the main culprits.. The perennial problem of air pollution has pervaded every nook and cranny of the world. And Kathmandu valley is not an exception.

The number of vehicles has burgeoned dramatically over the past eight or nine years. Now the number of vehicles plying on the Kathmandu streets is around 150,000 whereas the available streets, both metalled and non-metalled, are about 935 kilometres in length, thus exerting tremendous pressure on the roads.

The vehicular emissions that consist mainly of carbon monoxide are harmful not only to the environment but also to human health.

Too much carbon monoxide, inter alia, impairs the lungs by reducing their potential for carrying oxygen and affects the respiratory system thereby inducing such ailments as asthma and whooping cough. The fumes from adulterated petrol and diesel oil produce ocular irritation. Tetraethyllead or tetramethyllead used as an anti-knock agent in petrol disperses a large quantity of lead in the air. Because of its bowl-like shape, pollutants are trapped in the Kathmandu Valley for a long period thereby adding to air pollution.

In view of the growing air pollution problem, the government made a landmark decision in Bhadra, 2056. As a first token of the seriousness over the problem, Vikram tempos were banned from the Kathmandu Valley, Pokhara and the Lumbini region; the registration of two-stroke vehicles was annulled; and tractors, power tillers, trucks, lorries and dumpers were banned from operating within the Ring Road area of Kathmandu.

In fact, Vikram tempos are highly polluting. Their emission level exceeds 95 HSU (Hatridge smoke unit), whereas the levels are up to 75 HSU for the diesel vehicles of up to the 2051 model and up to 65 HSU for the vehicles of the subsequent models as per the emission standard of 2054.

The decision of the government also cancelled the registration of the auctioned-off old, useless vehicles belonging to governmental bodies, corporations and diplomatic missions, in Bagmati Zone.

As the emission standard of 2054 turned out to be inadequate with the changing times, the government introduced a new emission standard in Poush, 2056 called the Nepal Vehicular Mass Emission, 2056. As per the standard, the registration of very old vehicles was cancelled and the import of reconditioned vehicles was banned. However, this standard does not apply to the import of reconditioned fire brigades and ambulances.

In consideration of the growing air pollution, the transfer and registration of those vehicles having seen more than 20 years’ service were banned. Those vehicles less that 20 years were allowed to be registered outside the Kathmandu valley but banned from operating in the valley. Similarly, the two-stroke vehicles meeting the standard of 2056 were not allowed to be registered in the Kathmandu valley, Pokhara and the Lumbini region. The government’s decision to ban the registration of certain vehicles seems to have been made in view of the limited roads.

The emission standard of 2056 conforms to the Euro-1 standard in use in the European Union countries. However, this standard is not applicable to tractors, power tillers, bulldozers, loaders, dumpers, cranes, rollers, excavators and suchlike vehicles.

As a replacement of Vikram tempos, the government announced the introduction of microbuses into the Kathmandu valley. These buses have a capacity of seating ten to fourteen passengers. The import of such vehicles allowed 99 per cent customs duties with no VAT.

Microbuses run on a less polluting fuel-natural gas or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). Despite these facilities and the government’s repeated persuasion to import such buses, no microbus has arrived in the Kathmandu valley till now. The tempo-wallahs seem to be averse to microbuses. After all, you can take a horse to a river but cannot force it to drink water.. However, the dely in the arrival of microbuses has inconvenienced passengers and commuters since the Vikram tempos are no more plying the streets of Kathmandu.

Pressure Group

There are certain groups working in the environmental preservation sector. These groups, concerned about the degrading environment, are in the forefront to ensure that pollution levels in Kathmandu will not get from bad to worse. These groups have been engaged in public awareness and pressure campaigns, submitting various suggestions about controlling pollutants to the Ministry of Population and Environment (MoPE). It is to be hoped that these groups would be successful in raising the people’s awareness concerning pollution and the urgent need to protect the environment since without their cooperation, preserving the nation’s fragile ecology for posterity would be an uphill task.

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