Killing pollution in Bengaluru: Just metro not enough!

If the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board officials are to be believed, the Namma Metro has contributed significantly to reduce air pollution in the city. But experts point out that for a city with a population of over one crore, the Metro carries only two lakh passengers per day, leaving the rest to fend for themselves. Aksheev Thakur talks to environment experts, who believe that significant and noticeable changes can be brought in only when the Metro covers the entire city, Mono Rail and commuter trains start running and services of other modes of mass rapid transformation improve.

Often called the asthma capital of the country, Bengaluru’s rising air pollution, fueled by vehicular emissions, has not helped the many people, who come down with the respiratory ailments in the city.   

With some even  taking the drastic step of leaving the city for health reasons, it was hoped that the Metro Rail would come to its rescue and reduce the air pollution causing so much ill health among its people.      Although urban experts and activists continue to believe that the extended Metro Rail could help solve Bengaluru's rising air pollution, in reality it hasn’t made much of an impact as yet  if the number of vehicles on its roads are any indication.  Despite the Metro now covering a larger distance in Bengaluru, people appear to be depending on their own vehicles as much as before, if not more. In fact, the city saw  registration of 6,341,345 private vehicles like two-wheelers and cars in July this year - 38,781 more than in June.  

But not giving up hope as yet, urban expert,  V Ravichander observes, “The Metro is certainly a part of the green energy, which is better than fossil fuel. At present over 50 per cent of the people in the city commute through public transport. But this number should rise to 70 per cent to bring down its air pollution levels.”  He  believes that for the Metro to really make a difference the government needs to work on providing better last mile connectivity for passengers so that more people will be tempted to leave their vehicles home and opt for it.

Integration of the Metro Rail with other forms of public transport is also important to give commuters a reason to abandon their own vehicles for it, says Mr Srinivas Alavalli, coordinator of Citizens for Bengaluru. “I would prioritise the suburban railway and  want the bus fares to be reduced so that more commuters will navigate the city using public transport,” he adds.  

Mr Ravichander too believes that every form of  public transport must work in conjunction with the other to make sense to the commuter. “Compared with the monorail, I find buses are more feasible given their flexibility,” he maintains.  But Mr NR Suresh, convener, United Bengaluru, is unhappy with the  government’s priorities despite the growing traffic on the city’s roads  and the accompanying rise in air pollution.  While it has spent crores on widening  roads and improving their network towards the international airport , it has done little to improve the lot of the vast mass of people using BMTC buses, he regrets.

“The government needs to improve the services of the BMTC buses and other means of public transport if it is serious about bringing down the pollution levels in the city,” he stresses. 

Public sceptical over KSPCB’s reduced pollution claim
No matter how much smoke you continue to inhale at traffic junctions, the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) would have you  believe that the particulate matter in the air over the city has considerably fallen since Phase 1 of the Metro Rail became fully operational, carrying many more people over longer distances. 

Chairman of the KSPCB,  Laxman says the board, which does regular monitoring of the Air Quality Index (AQI), has found  it has considerably improved in  areas served by the Metro Rail. And attributes this to the proportionate number of two-wheelers found parked at the Metro stations. 

“We have noticed that in the East-West and North-South corridors of the Metro Rail, the air pollution, despite being above the national average, has considerably fallen. The AQI in Nayandahalli, Jayanagar and KSR railway stations has certainly improved,” he maintains. 

While agreeing that the opening of the new Metro lines has made some impact, Mr Srinivas Alavalli, coordinator for Citizens for Bengaluru, points out that currently the trains can carry only two lakh passengers every day, leaving the rest to fend for themselves. “The pollution level is still high in many areas as around 2000 vehicles are added to the city’s transport daily," he contends. 

The AQI at the city railway station was 98 for July as against 83 in  June  despite the inception of the Metro, point out activists like him. They note that going by the KSPCB’s own admission, an AQI of between 51 and 100 causes minor breathing discomfort even among normal people, who may be sensitive to pollution. 

Morever, Mr Mahesh Kashyap, a consultant with the Centre for Sustainable Development, observes that the PM10 emissions have increased 57 per cent between 2010 and 2014 and 23 per cent  between 2014 and 2015 in the city.

“Bengaluru is called the asthma capital as the city has witnessed a stupendous rise in the number of asthma patients from 2.8 per cent  in 1994 to 28.8 per cent in 2010,” he adds. 

That Bengaluru has a long battle ahead is clear as   a Greenpeace India report, Airpocalypse in 2017,   ranked it 63 among 168 cities across the country for PM 2.5 levels in 2015-2016. 

The situation can be taken lightly only at our own peril as the report reveals that around 1.2 million people die every year due to illnesses arising from air pollution in the country.

• In its report , Airpocalypse, Greenpeace India said that the PM10 levels in Karnataka’s cities were higher than the average of 60µg/m3 prescribed by the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)
• The highest AQI of 117 ,  which  can lead to serious respiratory ailments even among healthy people, was recorded at the Central Silk Board junction in July.
• In 2016, nearly 12.6 per cent of  petrol-driven vehicles and 36.3 per cent  of diesel- driven vehicles exceeded the national permissible limit for emissions.
• Going by experts, over 2000 private vehicles are added to the city every day.
• Over 6,341,345 private vehicles were registered in the city in July alone.

Heavy rain may have brought down pollution level too: Mr mahesh Kashyap, consultant for sustainable development
It is surprising to hear that air pollution has fallen in areas served by the Metro Rail. When and where was the air quality monitored along these routes?  It's possible that the unseasonal heavy rain of August and September may  have brought down the air pollution in these parts. If monitoring was done during these months, it would certainly show a fall in the pollution levels.

But the question is, were pollution levels monitored  on the route from the Mantri Square Metro station to the Majestic Metro station, which sees heavy traffic on potholed roads raising dust every day,  when the city had no rain?

Let’s be realistic. Many people have moved from BMTC buses to the Metro for the sake of convenience and faster mobility. But this does not mean that buses have stopped plying on these routes. They are still running along with other vehicles such as tempo travellers, cabs, and commercial goods vehicles.

In fact, the number of vehicles on the city’s roads has been increasing with over 2,000  being added to them every day. As of now, the total number of registered vehicles has crossed 20 lakh in the city.  

The Metro has only completed phase 1 after years of delay and still has a long way to go before its phases 2 and 3 can be completed. Imagine how many more vehicles will be added to the city 's roads in the meanwhile!

Also, last mile connectivity is still an issue. Hopefully, the  introduction of a  Mono Rail  and integrating it with the  Metro Rail will  persuade more people to leave their vehicles at home and opt for public transport.