Friday, 15 March 2024 | PNS | DEHRADUN
Air pollution caused by vehicles that run on diesel and petrol affects children of about 2.5 feet height the most due to heavy concentration of pollutants at the lower level on roads, the secretary of Regional Transport Authority (RTA) Sunil Sharma said. He said this during a workshop conducted by the regional transport office of Dehradun division in Uttaranchal Press Club on Thursday. Sharma, who is also Dehradun RTO (Administration), along with the RTO (Enforcement) Shailesh Tiwari interacted with locals, media and people from organisations and answered their queries regarding public transport, vehicular pollution and traffic violations, among others.
The RTA secretary said that air pollution caused by vehicles affects children of about 2.5 feet height the most due to high concentration of pollutants at lower level. Since adults are taller, they do not inhale concentrated pollutants in air like a child. The children often fail to communicate this to the elders as they consider it normal with time, said Sharma. He also said that parents should also not push their children to sit in crowded Vikrams or auto rickshaws during school time to save a few rupees as it can severely affect their health. Though authorities regularly take action against such violations, it is usually the parents who allow children to sit in already full vehicles, he added. Sharma said during the session that the Transport department is working on promoting electric vehicles to minimise the level of vehicular pollution in the plain districts. Responding to a question regarding electric vehicles being expensive compared to regular vehicles, Tiwari said, “Yes, electric vehicles used to be expensive earlier but with the development in technology with time, they cost about the same as petrol or diesel fuelled vehicles. Several people are registering their electric bikes, electric scooties and electric cars at the RTO every day. The department has also provided charging points for electric vehicles on various routes that will be increased with time. We will also be installing charging points on Char Dham routes to ensure people with electric vehicles do not face any inconvenience.” The RTA secretary also said that the department is also ensuring that new public transport vehicles are clean fuelled to minimise air pollution.
