Air quality management

Dhaka has been given the lowest rating in air quality management at a workshop held in Manila. The finding followed a survey carried out on seven major Asian cities.

It has also been reported that the average "particulate matter" level came down to 150 in 2002 from 300 in the city, after two-stroke auto-rickshaws were banned. But it is still higher than what is considered permissible by the United Standard Environmental agency. So things have improved, but we are still lagging far behind other Asian cities in air quality management.

The decision to phase out two-stroke auto-rickshaws was taken in view of the alarming air pollution in the city. It was indeed a hazardous situation that the city air had the highest level of lead concentration, which posed a direct threat to public health. Against this backdrop, the banning of two-stroke engines was welcomed by all and sundry, though it created a temporary dislocation in the city's transport system. The government pursued the plan of putting the worst pollutants off the road with determination and vigor.

However, a lot needs to be done to set things right. Poor enforcement of traffic rules still allows the vehicles spewing black smoke to go unpunished. The tightening of the noose only on auto-rickshaws cannot produce the desired results when glaring flaws remain unattended in other areas.

Air pollution is a major problem that most of the big cities in the world have been facing. But in our case the situation has deteriorated quickly in the absence of any air quality management worth the name. The government must be able to identify the problem in its entirety and adopt a holistic approach. Coordination among the agencies concerned must improve and strict enforcement of traffic rules must be ensured. For example, to begin with, emission of black smoke can be stopped by preventing violation of the rules in this respect. If we cannot achieve such a modest goal, the task of combating air pollution cannot be accomplished as a whole.

-- The Daily Star, Dhaka