Dear Editor,
Many of us have an impression that vehicle pollution emits only through the Exhaust Pipe(s) of a vehicle, which is not always true. Most of the passenger vehicles both three and four wheelers (six wheelers and personal cars have an exception because they have bigger or better engines) running on diesel fuel plying around the Capital Complex from Gohpur- Itanagar- Banderdewa Road) are either have leaky exhaust manifolds , head gasket or leaky exhaust pipes. That is why they get PUC (Pollution Under Control) certificate easily as typically pollution level is measured only at the end point of a vehicle engine ie., on the exhaust end whereas most of the vehicles pollute the Passenger Cabin filling it with harmful exhaust gas containing unburned fuel, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide or particulate matter, sulphur dioxide etc which can leave permanent adverse health as well as environmental effect. Moreover, the wear & tear dust from tyres and brake shoes(both Disc & Drum) due to frequent use of brake and clutch plate due to frequent gear changing and half clutching habit practiced in traffic jam also contribute a lot to pollution of the environment.
Though most of the dust particles are gathered on the kerb of the road or washed away to the drains, some still float in the air and are small enough to be inhaled causing serious damage to our lungs.
So, my appeal to the Passenger Vehicle owners is that please check for any exhaust related issue and if needed repair your vehicles for the greater cause of the environmental protection. The concerned authority should check the passenger vehicles for fitness including the leaky exhaust which enters in the passenger cabin at a regular interval prior to issuing a PUC.
Yours,
Samuel Konger,
Itanagar