Adopt Electric-Vehicles & Hybrids to curb Pollution, says IIT Kanpur
The deteriorating air-quality in Delhi and the NCR region had been hovering at alarming levels for some time now. The authorities in their typical manner have been looking at all types of alternatives to try and restore the air-quality to safe levels. From banning the registration of new diesel vehicles over 2000cc to enforcing the odd-even car rule from the New Year, every option is being explored.
But there is one source that believes that these are nothing but temporary measures which aren’t going to be as effective. The rising levels of air-pollution had, in-fact, been playing on the minds of the powers-that-be. Some two years ago, in 2013, the then government had roped in IIT Kanpur to conduct a study on air-pollution in the region.
In a recently submitted report to the government in Delhi, IIT Kanpur has put forth its suggestion that people ought to slowly move from petrol & diesel powered vehicles to those with electric and hybrid propulsion systems. Elaborating further on the recommended mix of vehicles, the IIT said that a minimum of two percent of two-wheelers and four-wheelers along with 10% of three-wheeler vehicles will have to make the shift to cleaner fuels.
Besides this, particulate filters would need to be retrofitted on all diesel powered vehicles, according to the IIT. It also wants immediate enforcement of BS-IV emissions norms and ultra-low sulphur diesel (ULSD) to be used. The experts at IIT Kanpur have also recommended stringent testing to ensure optimum road-worthiness for vehicles plying currently. Petrol pumps too will have to ensure that pumping losses during transfers are minimized through usage of adequate equipment. But switching vehicles to cleaner fuels is just part of the solution. If the air-quality is to truly see some improvements, the IIT recommends a host of other solutions to be implemented immediately.
According to IIT Kanpur, tech-driven methods like vacuum sweeping would have to be carried out on at-least the major roads, once every week. Coal usage would need to come to a complete stop. Alternative methods to dispose municipal waste would have to be found, burning it shall have to be stopped. Similar curbs would have to be enforced in the case of burning of crop residue in nearby Punjab & Haryana region. Construction waste too shall have to be transported and treated with care to ensure that the allied activities do not contribute to the dust in the atmosphere.
Most of the problems have compounded over the years. Both at the policy frame-work level as well as enforcement of rules as per the law has been ignored. It is only hoped that the powers that be shall take this harsh wake-up call to heart and do the right thing, this time around.
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