Kolkata air pollution  Kolkata is the most polluted metropolitan city in the country and is around 2.5 times more dangerous than the capital city of Delhi. Mumbai is the second most polluted metro and Chennai a much safer fourth. Delhi ranks third while among all areas of the country, Vadodara is the safest city to live in. According to statistics released by the Scientific and Environmental Researach Institute, quoting government figures, Kolkata had a suspended paritculate matter (SPM), the measure of pollution, at a steep 511 compared to Delhi's 234 and Mumbai's 322.   Kolkata has upstaged Delhi as the air pollution capital of India, accounting for more deaths due to lung cancer and heart attack than the capital city. More than 18 persons per one lakh people in Kolkata fall victim to lung cancer every year compared to the next highest 13 per one lakh in Delhi, according to environmental scientist and advisor of Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute (CNCI), Twisha Lahiri.   Not only lung cancer, cases of heart attack were also rising fast in the Eastern metropolis, Lahiri said quoting a six-year survey conducted by the cancer institute. She said incidents of heart attack were occurring more frequently in the city.    CNCI scientists maintain that more than seven in 10 people here suffer from various kinds of respiratory disorder, including children as well as elderly people. Lahiri said roadside hawkers, shopowners, traffic policemen, auto-rickshaw drivers, rickshaw-pullers and others who spend long hours on the road were the  most vulnerable. Children mainly suffer from breathing difficulties like asthma while elderly people are victims of lung cancer, the scientists said.     High court directive on autorickshaws  The landmark high court directive on autorickshaws has finally led to the first step towards a pollution-free Kolkata. It might not clean the city's air in one stroke, but it is sure to reduce pollution significantly. Vehicles older than 15 years emit 20 times more fumes than new ones. They have been asked to withdraw by June 30. The court directed that all auto-rickshaws, irrespective of their date of registration, will have to convert to either compressed natural gas (CNG) or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).    Autos are believed to be worse. While an ADB study pegged their contribution to total pollution load at 30%, a high court-appointed expert committee had recommended their phaseout in 2005. Withdrawing autos can lower pollution more dramatically in a city like Mumbai than Kolkata. The HC verdict will help the people of Kolkata to breath fresh again.

Howarh Bridge over Hooghly river.     The West Bengal government has decided to seek at least three month's time to implement the Calcutta High Court order banning the  polluting two-stroke vehicles from the eastern metropolis.

To protect Victoria Memorial   Environmentalist Subhas Dutta on Monday, June 10, 2008 filed a petition in Calcutta High Court, alleging that the state government had failed to carry out court orders to protect the Victoria Memorial Hall from pollution. The order, passed on September 28 last year by a division bench, had asked the government to follow certain guidelines to cut down on the pollution level around the monument.    “The court had directed the state government to shift the Esplanade bus terminus to a site at least three km away from the Memorial within six months. No action has yet been taken in this regard,’’ said Dutta.   The West Bengal government issued the notification on  March 28, 2008 acting on a six-month old High Court Order. The order was the concern of High Court that the relic of the Raj (Victoria Memorial) needs to be protected from the defacing fumes that tandoors and barbecues emit. Hotels and restaurants within a three-kilometers radius of Victoria Memorial can no longer use the charcoal fired ovens to barbecue meat and fish or cook tandoori food.

Victoria Memorial  The Calcutta High court had directed the state government to shift the Esplanade bus terminus to a site at least three km away from the Memorial within six months.

Study of air Pollution in city.   An ongoing global air pollution study by the Us-based National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has found that carbon monoxide emitted by cars combine with nitrogen dioxide present in the city atmosphere to cause serious damage to human lungs.    The research being carried out by the Ultra Violet Remote Sensing Group under the atmospheric chemistry department of  Nasa's Goddard Space Flight Center, has also reveled that the bulk of Kolkata's dust particles come from West Asia and the neighboring  regions.

The study in its first phase, is being conducted with the help of Ozone Monitoring Instrument, a satellite recording images of air pollution across the globe. "The image recorded before monsoon confirm that the dust particle in Calcutta and other parts of Gangetic valley are blown in from outside," explained Pawan Kumar Bhartia, in charge of the project. "We are in talks with Indian Space Research  Organisation and other Indian research institutes for studies on the ground and sea level.Investigation into India's air pollution is a complex process, as the direction of  air flow changes through the year."     The satellite images show presence of layers of nitrogen dioxide and aerosols in the city's atmosphere, Nitrogen dioxide, in the presence of sunlight, forms ozone, which is extremely harmful for crops and lungs. While nitrogen dioxide cannot move from one place to another, ozone flows to other areas. "It is to be seen how much of the thick layer of ozone  over Kolkata has flown in from outside," said Nasa scientist. The aerosol consists of solid dust particles and sulphuric acid. "The dust particles are blown over the northern part of India to Kolkata before they move south towards Bay of Bengal," added Bhartia. According to him, dust particles can travel 700 to 800 km in a day, which means they will take only a couple of days to travel from Delhi to Kolkata.

The dust particle over Kolkata     Thick layer of ozone  over Kolkata has flown in from outside," said Nasa scientist.

Air pollution suffocates Kolkata   Some 70% of people in the city of Kolkata suffer from respiratory disorders caused by air pollution, a recent study by a prominent cancer institute in India has concluded. Ailments include lung cancer, breathing difficulties and asthma, caused by air pollution, the Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute (CNCI) study says. The CNCI is one of India's foremost research bodies, and its investigation took six years to complete.    One of its key findings was a direct link between air pollution among the 18m people of Kolkata and the high incidence of lung cancer. Kolkata tops all Indian cities when it comes to lung cancer - at 18.4 cases per 100,000 people - far ahead of Delhi at 13.34 cases per 100,000.     The fuel of auto rickshaws is bad for air quality. The city's highly polluted air is leading to the growing number of lung cancer patients," says Twisha Lahiri, who conducted the CNCI study with five other researchers. The ideal count of Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM) and Respiratory Particulate Matter (RPM) should not exceed 140 and 60 respectively.

Kolkata's air pollution results from the horribly high levels of auto emissions.  (Burbon Road, Kolkata, packed all the time with mini -buses and buses. )

But Kolkata's average SPM count is 211 and RPM count is 105. And in the worst polluted traffic intersections, this count can be double the city's average during busy hours. "Kolkata's air pollution results from the horribly high levels of auto emissions which the authorities have failed to control so far. If this is not checked with a heavy hand, the impact on the health of Kolkatan's, particularly children, will be devastating," says city doctor Parthasarthi Dutta. Street side occupants - particularly the hawkers who sell stuff - are the worst sufferers , the CNCI study says. It says that 79% of hawkers who spend a long time outdoors have suffered damaged lungs.       Environmentalist Subhas Dutta filed a public interest litigation in the Calcutta High Court in March this year, alleging that the West Bengal government was doing nothing to control air pollution levels. The court ordered the government to reduce vehicle emissions. In May 2005, the government set a deadline which ordered all vehicles in Calcutta manufactured before 1990 either to be off the roads or convert to greener fuel like LPG.     Nearly 80% of the city's buses and trucks and nearly 50% of its taxis and auto-rickshaws would have gone off the roads if the government enforced its directive. "It would have thrown Kolkata's transport system into chaos," says Madan Mitra of the Bengal Taxi Association. "The commuter would have suffered."   But the Calcutta High Court quashed the government directive, and though the government challenged it in a higher bench, the case has yet to come up.     The worst offenders are around 50,000 auto rickshaws - half of them unregistered - who use "kantatel". This is a fuel made out of a deadly concoction of kerosene and petrol. "The toxic fumes released by them pollutes the city's air more than anything else, but no one can touch the auto- rickshaws because they have powerful trade unions," says environmentalist Subhas Dutta. "It again becomes an employment issue," he said.    In Kolkata 85% vehicles flout emission norms   Only one in every six vehicles in the city get the emission tested. The rest give a damn. Till December 2008, around 14 lakh vehicles were registered in the city. All of these vehicles 9.5 lakh private and 4.5 lakh commercial were required to get the tailpipe emission tested twice a year. In 1989, a nexus between transport  officials, operators and police has ensured that polluting vehicles continue to ply on Kolkata's roads unchecked and uninhibited.    Faced with a scrap order for commercial vehicles that are over 15 years old, bus and taxi operators have threatened to launch an agitation from July 24, 2009. But none have an answer to why their vehicles have continued to flout norms and ply without proper emission tests. Incidentally, emission test centres had upgraded to advanced multi-gas analysers at an investment of Rs 5.5-6 lakh each in 2004-05 following a high court order on the curb pollution issue. But with most vehicles failing to report for tests and continuing to ply on city roads unchecked, the court took up the pollution issue again, leading to the fresh scrap order that operators are now finding unpalatable.    Asian brown cloud has robbed West Bengal of winter     Environmental experts feel a blanket of pollutants in the air, called the Asian Brown Cloud, could be responsible for the climate change. "For the past few years we have not been experiencing winter in West Bengal. This environmental change is caused by the formation of the Asian Brown Cloud," environmentalist Pranabesh Sanyal, who is also a member of the World Conservation Union said.  "The cloud has been formed due to increasing automobile pollution in the air, carbon soot (or particulate carbon) and chemicals used in the agriculture sector."     According to Sanyal, the Asian Brown Cloud is the main reason behind the apparent climate change in India. "It's also causing delayed winter and absence of chill factor in West Bengal."  "Massive use of inorganic fertilisers and automobile byproducts lead to nitrous oxide emission in the air. This has caused the formation of an atmospheric brownish haze layer over a vast portion of South Asia," he said.    Polluted waters of the Ganges River after the immersion of Durga idols   The Hooghly river was left so polluted after the first day of immersions that millions of fish and aquatic plants have been massacred, and anyone who went into the water faced the danger of falling severely ill due to zinc and heavy metal poisoning. The River Pollution Control Act categorically prohibits idol immersions in the river. Kolkata Municipal Corporation also claiming  to protect the Hooghly from pollution caused by immersions. Yet, all this has come to a naught. Samples of water collected showed that dissolved oxygen had dipped to 2.1 mg per litre while the desired level is at least 5 mg per litre. This is dangerous level as aquatic life cannot survive in such low oxygen content in water. The volume of solid suspended matter as well as oil and grease in water were also alarmingly high. The content of solid suspended matter in the water like zinc, aluminium and lead can affect those who bathe in the water leave alone those who drink it,” said S M Ghosh of EMG.   Pollution due to illegal tanneries   The stench of hides being sun-dried and the odour of tanned leather hangs in the air by the illegal tanneries that line the nearby railway tracks. The Supreme Court had in April 2002 mandated that all tanneries must move to CLC by October that year. Yet, some 250-odd tanneries continue to operate in the city, according to Paresh Rajda, a leading glove exporter based in Kolkata and the eastern regional chairman of the Council for Leather Exports, a trade body sponsored by the Union ministry of commerce and industry.  “Of the almost 500 leather goods manufacturers in Kolkata...only 112 have bought plots in the CLC and of them only about 10-odd have started some form of construction,” says Rajda. Kolkata’s leather goods manufacturers suffered a major setback because they were heavily dependent on exports. “Almost 95% of India’s leather glove exports and 60% of the leather goods exports originate in and around Calcutta,” adds Rajda. The West Bengal Pollution Control Board claims to have forcibly closed 72 leather units over the past couple of months.    Environment dept to file affidavit at HC   KOLKATA, June 16, 2008: Disappointed that vehicle owners and the concerned agencies have not complied with its directives to control auto-emission, the state environment department will file an affidavit in Calcutta High Court, giving details of how the directives have been flouted.    Department secretary M L Meena conceded that auto-emission controlling norms have not been followed. "Our emphasis is on checking auto-emission created from the transport sector. We will now submit an affidavit to the HC, giving details as to how the norms to prevent auto-emission have been flouted," he said. The environment department wants the court to take strong steps.    With air pollution levels in the city going up steadily, the environment department has been working on steps to curb auto-emission for some time. A newly published study by an NGO says Kolkata is the most polluted city in the country, both in terms of SPM and RPM counts in the air.    Green body in bid to encourage biofuel use   KOLKATA, June 16, 2008: The state government has, so far, miserably failed to check auto-emission and air pollution due to excessive use of fuels. Instead, both auto-emission and air pollution are on the rise in the city.  A concerned West Bengal Green Energy Development Corporation Limited (WBGEDCL) is now planning to introduce special concessions for those who use vehicles that run on biofuels and biodiesel. The move, they believe, will reduce the use of petrol and diesel and cut down on pollution.    WBGEDCL managing director S P Ganchowdhury said they are working on an idea to introduce an alternative fleet of vehicles on city streets. "The idea is to encourage the use of eco-friendly vehicles that are run on biodiesel and biofuels. This would help reduce emission," he said. WBGEDCL, formerly West Bengal Renewable Energy Development Agency (WBREDA), had once introduced a few solar-powered cars and two-wheelers in the city to reduce the use of petrol and diesel. However, not many people opted for them.   City schools to fight global warming   Kolkata, April 18, 2009: The Apeejay School whose hundreds of youngsters, ranging from age five to 18,  trooped into the Park Street campus on Friday morning, faces covered in anti-pollution masks.   “It is part of our school uniform now. It will protect us from the pollution that is killing the children of Kolkata,” said a student.                              The anti-pollution mask has been made a part of the uniform from this academic session by Apeejay School  at both its Park Street and Salt Lake branches  in a bid to safeguard the health of its students and boost attendance. “We realised that a lot of our students had health problems that kept them away from school. Watery eyes, blocked noses or breathing problems, it all stems from pollution and we realised that we needed to do something to help ourselves,” said the principal and administrator, Reeta Chatterjee.   After a session last month with environment activist Mudar Patherya on the threat posed to children by vehicular pollution, a group of students walked into the principal’s office and suggested that the mask be made a part of the school uniform.    Kolkata cycle rally promotes environment awareness   KOLKATA, Sept.6, 2009: Hundreds of cyclists took to the streets here on Sunday in a cycle rally organized with an aim to promote environmental awareness. The rally was organized by the state-run oil refinery, the Indian Oil Corporation.  "We want to spread awareness amongst the people regarding the global warming, the environmental friendly attitude, what we need and how we can protect the environment, why should you protect the environment, all these points we are taking through this walk and this rally," said Aloke Kumar Singh, Indian Oil spokesperson. The cyclists included participants young and old.    Kolkata Map View Larger Map

[Information Technology ] [ Environment ] [ Agriculture ] [Renewable Energy ] [ Clean Water] [Education ] [ Child Care ] [Health Care ] [ Wild Life ] [ Railways] [ Airways ] [ Weather] [ Contact Us ] [Advertise ] [ About Us ] [ Disclaimer ]