Southern States - Karnataka   

Tests to protect children from pollution

By Our Staff Correspondent

MANGALORE JAN. 6. Air pollution caused by vehicular emissions is being taken as a serious health hazard for children in Dakshina Kannada. Towards reducing the risk, the district administration has organised tests for determining the lead content in the bloodstream of 100 schoolchildren. The Deputy Commissioner, A.K. Monnappa, disclosed this here on Monday while presiding over the inaugural ceremony of the Road Safety Week organised by the Regional Transport Office and the district police.

He said the district administration, in association with St. John's Medical College, Bangalore, and the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board, would conduct the tests on an experimental basis in the city corporation Limits. This would determine if the ambient air quality in the city was healthy. The RTO and the police had been directed to train its officials in detecting air pollution with experiential inputs from the board.

Mr. Monnappa said owing to the high vehicle density, the roads and traffic-related infrastructure in the city were being found inadequate. Pedestrian safety had been severely affected. To overcome the problem, funds were being received for road improvement from the Government. He appealed to corporates and social organisations to take up development work.

On the need for a comprehensive traffic improvement policy for the city, Mr. Monnappa appealed to the corporation to work closely with the district administration, the police, and the RTO. Better coordination among them was the solution to the traffic management problems.

Commending the de-addiction campaign taken up by the KSRTC, Mr. Monnappa said it had created workable models for the transport industry in controlling alcoholism. The Corporation Commissioner, J.R. Lobo, said the corporation was trying to fill up potholes on all roads. By April, all roads would be paver finished. This would ensure smooth vehicular movement. Lack of pedestrian safety owing to the unavailability of footpaths was still a major concern. Hawking forced people to walk on the roads. The corporation was making honest efforts to earmark pavements for pedestrians by using interlocking pavers. The experimental pavement on the Hampankatta stretch had been successful, he added.

The Superintendent of Police, Seemanth Kumar Singh, expressed concern over the worsening traffic conditions in the city. He sought public cooperation for proper traffic management. Police were planning to hold traffic awareness programmes with participation from transport trade organisations, social service clubs, and other organisations. Mr. Singh commended the initiative taken by the mofussil bus operators for voluntary time keeping. This had brought down the number of accidents.

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