Polluting in style
Even as the manufacturers of the Contessa Classic automobile claim that it is the symbol of upwardly mobile Indians, a traffic pollution study conducted by the Centre for Science and Technology (CST) reveals that it is the most polluting car on that city's roads.
CST, a Bangalore-based non-governmental organisation, carried out emission tests on 4,120 vehicles, including 550 cars. According to CST convenor K V Narendra, the study indicated that nearly 61 per cent of the cars in Bangalore violate emission regulations. This percentage comprised cars of all makes, indicating that although pollution control stipulations were incorporated in 1987 into the Motor Vehicles Act, no manufacturer seems to have carried out the required design changes. Even when the cars were classified in 3 categories based on their year of manufacture -- 1984-89, 1990-91, and post-1992 -- tabulations showed that there were polluting cars in each category. The results prove that "the manufacturers have not put in the requisite effort to reduce emission levels in their cars", according to Narendra. "We should also consider whether it is fair to fine car purchasers for laxity on the part of the manufacturers," he added.
CST is forwarding its report to the Union ministry for surface transport with the recommendation that a committee be instituted to find ways to gain the cooperation of manufacturers in reducing vehicular pollution.
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