KARACHI - Despite launching several awareness campaigns to control the air pollution in the major cities of the country especially in Karachi, the metropolitan is still confronting this problem, The Nation learnt on Saturday.
The government agencies, several institutions and law enforcers have been failed to control the air pollution in the urban parts of the country, while lack of interest by the local government and other organisations towards controlling the smoke emitting from the vehicles, especially public transport and two-stroke vehicles.
In different times, the government departments as well as the environment protection agencies had launched several massive campaigns against air pollution and smoke-emitting vehicles, but failed to achieve their goals. Meanwhile, Qazi Ali Athar, advocate of Sindh High Court (SHC) and Environmental Law Attorney, moved the SHC against the air and noise pollution in the metropolitan, while his petition is under process in the court.
He mentioned the statistics, in his petition, by submitting that approximately 2,08,861 public vehicles are operating in the City. The vehicles comprised of 34,959 rickshaws, 3,665 buses, 10,700 mini buses, 2,324 contract careers, 4,321 mini coaches, 49,396 pick-up vehicles, 49,396 taxis, while 45,972 private vehicles are operating across the City. These vehicles used to release 1,75,935 tons of different toxic gases.
The diesel engines and two-stroke vehicles are the main cause of air pollution. There is no solution for these diesel automobiles because they emit a huge amount of smoke and noise, as they carry massive loads, which is the major factor for the smoke emission.
Only those vehicles emit smoke and produce noise whose engines are almost out of order and are running on low quality fuel and spare parts, whereas most of them are the models of 70s.
