Ozone danger looms large over Bangalore

BANGALORE: Bangaloreans have to live with a new threat. If you go by The Energy and Resources Institute's (TERI) recent study on increasing ozone pollution across the country, tbe city is likely to be one of the worst affected.

Pollutants like nitrogen oxide gases (NOx) and NMVOCs (non-methane volatile organic carbon) that are emitted more from vehicular sources, react in the presence of sunlight to produce ozone at ground levels. It can have serious health impact and also damage agricultural yields.

Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata and Pune have very high NOx concentration because of rapid increase in vehicular traffic. This would mean high levels of ozone pollution. At present, ozone monitoring is being done only in Delhi, which shows that concentration has violated the standards, specifically during seasons of higher photochemical activity.

The report released by TERI and Toyota Motor Corporation on Tuesday in Delhi claims that ozone concentrations across the country could be very high by 2030. This is based on an assessment of the energy and emissions scenarios from 2005 to 2030 for various states and Union territories, based on the GAINS Asia model for pollutants like particulate matter, oxides of sulphur and nitrogen oxides.

WHY BANGALORE?

Vehicles and DG sets are the largest contributors of NOx and hydrocarbons. "Bangalore could be particularly vulnerable because of the huge contribution of NOx from the vehicular sector. The city has already implemented the Bharat Stage IV norms which are the most advanced in the country. But it continues to have lots of old vehicles which are inefficient," said Sumit Sharma, Fellow and area convenor, TERI.

SOLUTIONS

Some solutions that can be implemented soon are reducing usage of vehicles, better land-use planning, having more advanced vehicular norms, banning older vehicles and bypassing of congested areas.

"Ozone monitoring hasn't started in Bangalore but when it does, the figures are going to be very high," added Sumit.

WHAT IS OZONE POLLUTION?

A gas is formed when volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and nitrogenoxide gases (NOx) experience chemical reactions. These reactions are triggered by exposure to sunlight and high temperatures. VOCs and NOx are emitted by cars, factories and numerous other human sources. Ozone pollution may start in urban areas with high concentration of human activity, but it can spread across vast distances.

HEALTH IMPACT

Ozone pollution can cause serious irritation in the lungs and their premature ageing. Asthma can aggravate and it can lead to bronchitis, increased risk of respiratory infections as well as permanent lung damage if constantly exposed.

Google Street View project stopped by Police in Bangalore

The police here on Tuesday said internet giant Google's Street View project in the city had been stalled, as the company had failed to produce the clearances it had earlier claimed to have obtained from the central government.

“They (Google) said they had the necessary clearances, including that from the ministry of defence, but so far they have not produced these. So, we have asked them to produce the documents before going ahead,” said assistant commissioner, T Sunil Kumar.


“We are in discussion with the authorities to address their concerns. We hope to resolve the matter at the earliest,” a Google India spokesperson said in an email reply.

Google India had yesterday said the Bangalore police had asked the company to suspend collecting images of Bangalore streets, and the company has stopped its camera-mounted cars for the time being.

Google India had launched its Street View project here last month to capture images of the city to feed its popular Google Maps platform. As a part of this, the company engaged a fleet of cars and tricycles mounted with cameras to visit various locations for taking photographs of streets and public locations.

Google claimed to have obtained permission of the Bangalore police. The company was planning to expand the project to other cities.

The office of the Commissioner of Police, stated it had only issued a 'no-objection letter' for the movement of ‘street view vehicles’, subject to necessary permission that might be required from the security point of view.

“Since they proceeded with filming without necessary security-related permission from the Government of India, their operations were stopped,” the statement said.

The police also said the 'no-objection letter' that Google India had sought for was only meant for the movement of their street view vehicles, without causing obstruction to the free flow of traffic or general public.

On being asked what would happen to the images Google has already taken, the ACP said the department would examine all those pictures. “If there is any violation of law or privacy, we will take appropriate measures. We will look at it legally,” added Kumar.

This is not the first time that the search engine giant is facing roadblock for its Street View project. In May, the company said its camera-mounted cars had inadvertently collected personal data from unsecured wireless networks. This led the company to undergo increased scrutiny in several countries including France and the UK.

France had imposed a fine of euro 100,000 ($144,000) for fetching data from unsecured Wi-Fi networks for Street View. The UK had asked Google to delete any personal data from Wi-Fi hot spots collected by Street View.

The company is also undergoing a legal battle in Switzerland, with allegations that Street View had infringed on privacy.