Don’t wait to become another India or China to tackle pollution
View(s):Pollution of the environment has gone from the discharge of effluence to water and emissions to the air, to pollution caused by vehicles. It is not only vehicles on surface but connected to air as well as sea. Western countries have placed major emphasis on controlling pollution by vehicles. Strict laws were imposed to control emissions and the public was made aware of the impact of pollution on the environment through the electronic and print media as well as in schools.
More vehicles on the roads; more air pollution
Pollution by vehicles is a big issue in the developing world especially in India and China. Sri Lanka too is facing the issue right now but, Government regulations are weak and are flouted by people as they assume it is a problem for the Government to tackle and not them. With the anticipated reduction of the retail price of petroleum products in the local market the issue of pollution will be aggravated with more people travelling which will result in more pollution and traffic jams. The best decision for legislators is not to reduce the retail price of diesel and petrol till the Petroleum Corporation gets out of the red. It is said China is importing air. India is considering banning even/odd number registered vehicles entering major cities on the same day, thereby reducing the vehicle population entering the cities by 50%.
Pakistan has banned buses entering Islamabad and I saw a unique system in Lahore and Islamabad on a recent visit to Pakistan. There are no colour lights and no intersections on some major roads. Most of them are three, four, five lane either way with a centre divider. There are designated places to make U turns to enter a street on the right hand side. U turns are made in such a way the flow of oncoming traffic is not obstructed. Vehicles now turning into a side road on left can filter in to the left turn. There is no waste of time, fuel, pollution or being stuck to turn right. I did not see any pedestrian crossings. Crossings were overhead about five hundred metres apart.
In the USA, car pooling is encouraged. Some companies encourage the use of public transport by reimbursing the cost whereas payment has to be made for using parking lots. Electric vehicle charging points are provided free in parking lots.
The average speed on streets in Sri Lanka is reducing each year. Other than for the two freeways from Colombo to Matara and Colombo to the Airport the average speed has dropped to 10 to 15 km/hour on city roads and 25 to 35 km/hour on trunk roads. It takes three– four hours to reach Kandy. Train travel too is slow.
There are only two pollution testing organisations in the country. By observing the belching vehicles on the roads it is clearly seen that there are problems with the issue of the Test Certificate. There should be a coloured sticker placed on the rear window of vehicles to identify which testing organization issued the certificate. It is impossible to walk on streets during peak hours without inhaling a heavy cloud of smoke. This may be the only country that is still importing buses with diesel engines and those belonging to the government railway too are badly maintained. It is very rare to spot a train engine that does not emit smoke.
We often see drivers of luxury vehicles have the engine running when parked and go to sleep in air-conditioned comfort which adds to pollution. Numerous methods are being thought up by City Traffic Police. Keep to Your Lane KTYA is being tested. I am yet to find buses, heavy vehicles, three-wheelers, cycles keeping to the left lane unless to turn right. Obstruction is caused only when a vehicle needs to turn right which lasts forever as all drivers are in a mighty hurry when behind the wheel. Most drivers do not know the meaning of courtesy on the street, that the vehicle on the right has the right of way.
Much is spoken about noise pollution. There is a law which says sound should be less than 65 decibels from the perimeter of a building in the city and less than 80 DB from the perimeter of a factory. Horns should be less than 65 DB. Equipment to measure sound of vehicle horns and emission was imported to do surprise checks on vehicles but what has happened. How many drivers of buses have been prosecuted for excessive use of horns? Sound pollution is back in action from 0400 in the morning and late in to the night. If devout Buddhists and Muslims want to hear their pirith and call for prayer, let them do so in their homes through Radio or TV. Temples and mosques should not make the call to prayer a public nuisance. Students who get up early morning to study are greatly inconvenienced. Call to prayer by mosques is under 10 minutes – pirith goes on for 60 minutes. Buddhists of this country do not know that pirith must be chanted live and not broadcast through recordings.
In certain countries, there is a ban on private vehicles travelling to historic sites and sanctuaries. Instead visitors are taken by electric shuttle on a Hop and Jump system. Some hotels in Sri Lanka have started to use electric golf carts to transport guests – a sensible move. It is high time buses are stopped from entering wild life parks as they emit black smoke while travelling on low gear.
The fastest solution for the current crisis of traffic jams in Colombo will be to add 12 more power sets with 10 carriages carrying approximately 1,000 passengers per set, four each on the Kalutara – Colombo, Negombo – Colombo and Gampha- Colombo lines during peak hours to arrive in Colombo between 0700 – 0800 a.m. and leave Colombo between 1700 – 1830. This will take around 25,000 – 30,000 passengers off the streets to and from Colombo on to trains thereby eliminating 1,500 – 2,000 vehicles entering the city. Planning for Metro, Tube is good for the future and may take 5 – 10 years. These also need a lot of money for implementation. What is required now is a quick fix.
Legislation should be passed that transport in the Port City should only be by door to door electric shuttle. It is high time legislators took pollution seriously before we end up like India and China who are trying to recover from a lost battle.