Cold worsens pollution: The cold weather conditions also mean more pollution. The data available with the Central Pollution Control Board shows that concentration of pollutants has increased in the air in December and this situation is likely to continue through January. According to CPCB officials, when the mercury dips, the pollutants are unable to rise and disperse in the air. Thus, they cling on at the lower level of the atmosphere during the winter months. The more the fall in the temperature, the greater the possibility of higher concentration of pollutants in the atmosphere. Like every year, this year too, the concentration of pollutants like respirable suspended particulate matter, suspended particulate matter, oxides of nitrogen and carbon monoxide has been higher than that recorded during the earlier months.
Source: The Asian Age, New Delhi, 31/12/2004

Deadly pollutant is eating up Delhi: Even as the Capital’s air has been recording a steady increase in nitrogen dioxide levels over the years, the Delhi Government has failed to take any steps to curb this alarming development. Concerned environmentalists point out that while this deadly pollutant is inching beyond permissible limits, no concrete effort has been made to check this trend while is being termed as dangerous for the environment and air of the Capital. "According to the present emission standards under Euro II environmental norms, diesel vehicles are allowed to emit much higher levels of nitrogen dioxide than petrol vehicles," says the associate director of the Right to Clean Air Campaign, Centre for Science and Environment, Anumita Roy Chowdhury.
Source: The Hindu, New Delhi, 26/12/2004

Administration wakes up to rising pollution in Amritsar: While the city has got the dubious distinction of being the second most polluted in Punjab after the industrial town of Ludhiana with the Suspected Particulate Matter (SPM) level touching 400 microgram, twice the permissible limit, the district Administration has finally woken up from its slumber to tackle pollution.
Source: The Indian Express, Chandigarh, 17/12/2004

Asia 's most polluted Mumbai in top 10: A new air pollution chart of 20 major Asian cities has ranked Mumbai fifth in the list of defaulters, Pollution levels in Mumbai are lower than Delhi - which tops the list and Kolkata, But the warning: Air pollution is down but still dangerous.
Source: The Indian Express, Mumbai, 10/12/2004

Dust, emission keep pollution above limit: The introduction of CNG may have cleared the city air a bit but pollution levels in the capital continue to be way above the National Ambient Air Quality Standards. As the year comes to an end, data available with the Central Pollution with the Central Pollution Control Board shows that introduction of CNG, a shift to better emission norms and cleaner fuels like low sulphur and unleaded petrol, has helped improve the air quality over the years, But the growing fleet of vehicles, large amounts of natural dust it he atmosphere along with presence of thermal power plants and biomass burning in slum areas have kept the pollution levels way above acceptable limits.
Source: The Asian Age, New Delhi, 20/12/2004

Breather & death breath: The winter air in Calcutta has officially been branded the most polluted among Indian metros, with the principal blame lying with the exhaust pipes of diesel-driven vehicles. As the mercury plummets and the smog thickens, there is no respite in sight for the country's pollution capital during cooler climes, according to a World Bank-supported study. Calcutta was found to have the highest proportion of PM 2.5 (or, particulate matter equal or less than 2.5 microns in size) with the maximum pollutant potential to cause health hazards, including cancer. The report, titled Towards Cleaner Urban Air in South Asia: Tackling Transport Pollution, Understanding Sources, covers major south Asian cities including Calcutta, Mumbai and Delhi. "Introduction of alternative fuel is the only sustainable option. CNG should be introduced in Calcutta as soon as possible, and that can only happen on the state government's initiative," says Sunita Narain of Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), which has been urging state environment minister Manab Mukherjee to take the Delhi route.
Source: The Telegraph, Calcutta, 9/12/2004

CPCB reviewing air quality in cities: The increasing number of industrial units coming up in residential areas has set alarm bells ringing at the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). The Board is well into the process of reviewing ambient air quality standard after 10 years - in wake of mixed land use. It is studying urban areas around the country where mixed land use - or the presence of industrial units in residential units - is prevalent. ''We are reviewing the way mixed land use has developed in urban areas like Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai... It is difficult to demarcate residential and industrial areas,'' said CPCB chairman Dr V. Rajagopalan. Wind and meteorological factors carry pollution to residential areas.
Source: The Indian Express, New Delhi, 15/12/2004

Ozone pollution affects crops: Study: High up in the sky, kit protects the Earth from getting torched. But closer to the ground, ozone seems to be adversely affecting productivity of several crops including rice and wheat. In a unique and painstaking research, spanning over almost a decade, botanists at the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) have gathered evidence, suggesting that ozone pollution in rural areas has reduced productivity in rice, wheat, soya, mung. Adverse influences have also been observed in carrots and spinach.
Source: Deccan Herald, Bangalore, 10/12/2004

Delhi breathe easy? Gasp. Cough. Choke. And it's only getting worse. A joint study conducted by the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank ranks Delhi's air as the most polluted in Asia. 'A very serious message has emerged for Delhi. In other Asian cities listed, pollution levels came down subsequent to measures being initiated', says Anumita Roy Choudhary of the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), 'But even after implementing Euro II norms, introducing CNG, lowering sulphur levels in fuel, and phasing out 15-year old vehicles, Delhi still tops the air pollution list'.
Source: The Times of India, New Delhi, 11/12/2004

Delhi air Asia's most polluted: This is not going to come as a surprise. New Delhi tops the grim pollution charts released by a World Bank and Asian Development Bank joint study of air pollution for 20 major Asian cities between 2000 and 2003. Mumbai and Kolkata are also in the top 10 defaulters. For most hazardous of particles - PM10, which can even penetrate a face mask - New Delhi has three times more than Hong Kong. (The city that comes closest to being classified as most polluted in the world is Mexico, depending on the season.) Jakarta and Chongqing in south-west China follow close behind. The findings were released at one of the largest gatherings on air quality management in Agra - 'Better Air Quality 2004'. The big picture is though there has been moderate to slight decrease in pollution levels for sulphur dioxide, total suspended particulates and fine particulates, they are way above WHO guidelines.
Source: The Indian Express, New Delhi, 9/12/2004

Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Shimla violate air pollution norms: The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has identified 65 cities in the country, including Chandigarh, having higher levels of air pollution than stipulated norms. Other cities in the North include New Delhi; Mandi Gobindgarh, Ludhiana and Jalandhar in Punjab; Faridabad and Yamunanagar in Haryana; and Damtal, Paonta Sahib and Shimla in Himachal Pradesh. In a written reply to the Lok Sabha regarding states where dust particles were creating havoc, Minister of State for Environment and Forests Namo Narian Meena, releasing the list of 65 cities in India, said the CPCB had circulated guidelines to the state pollution control boards for formulating action plans to deal with the problem.
Source: The Tribune, New Delhi, 8/12/2004

Study finds high air pollution levels in Asian cities: Estimates made by the World Health Organisation (WHO) suggest that the impact of outdoor air pollution in Asian cities is substantial and warrants the attention of policy-makers. According to a WHO report, each year urban air pollution contributes to approximately 800,000 deaths and 4.6 million lost life-years. This burden, however, is not equally distributed: about two-thirds of the deaths and lost life-years occur in the developing countries of Asia. The Health Effects Institute (HEI), a Boston-based organisation, supported by the United Nations Environment Programme, also carried out a study on "Health Effects of Outdoor Air Pollution in Developing Countries of Asia," and the findings were released at the Better Air Quality (BAQ 2004) conference here.
Source: The Hindu, New Delhi, 8/12/2004

Polluted cities list getting longer: Delhi setting an example for other cities to clean urban air, may not have gone far. Almost every city in the past decade has failed to attain the desired air quality level. And vehicles have taken over as the prime source of pollution in all major cities. Respirable suspended particulate matter (RSPM) in the air is the prime cause of concern in most cities. Vehicle exhaust is a major source of RSPM transmission. Ambient air quality data between 1995 and 2003 show that all major cities are choking. The Environment Ministry told the Parliament on Monday that as many as 65 towns and cities have not attained the desired air quality.
Source: The Pioneer, New Delhi, 7/12/2004

City may breathe easy if KSPCB board has its way: If the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) manages to implement all its plans for reducing pollution in the near future, residents of Bangalore might just be able to breathe easy in 2010. Although the environment scenario in the city looks pretty bleak at present, KSPCB says that pollution levels will be brought down in the next few years with some major initiatives planned in the near future. Vehicular emission is the main culprit here, with the number of two and three-wheelers increasing exponentially over the years. At present, there are around 20 lakh vehicles in the city, of which a staggering 17 lakh are two-wheelers and autorickshaws alone.
Source: The New Indian Express, Bangalore, 2/12/2004

High-octane petrol from BPCL: BPCL has launched Speed 97, its new brand of high-octane petrol mixed with lubricant additives, meant to improve vehicle performance. The product is aimed at high-performance cars. Speed 97 will help cars by removing harmful deposits from all fuel metering systems and components, a news release said. BPCL has already launched branded diesel `Hi-Speed` and `Speed 93`, another high-octane petrol brand.
Source: Business Line, New Delhi, 5/1/2005

Oil firms may have to import green fuel: With the April 1 deadline for complying with Bharat Stage-III fuel standards closing in, oil-marketing companies are likely to import the green fuel to meet a part of the demand in 11 cities. It is believed that the local production of Bharat Stage-III fuel will not be enough. The largest public sector oil marketing company, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), had floated a tender to meet the fresh demand for Bharat Stage-III fuel. The response has been inadequate so far. IOC had planned to import 185,000 tonnes of Euro-III grade diesel to meet the deficit. Explaining the lack of response to the tender, the company said, "There were just two offers, and both were not meeting the required specifications." The 11 cities where the use of Bharat Stage-III grade ultra-low sulphur fuel will be made mandatory include Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad, Surat, Kanpur and Agra.
Source: Business Standard, New Delhi, 4/1/2005

MRPL ships out first delivery of Euro-III: Mangalore refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) has despatched the first consignment of 10,000 kilolitres (KL) of Euro-III high-speed diesel (HSD) making it the first refinery to produce Euro-III fuel. The first consignment of Euro-III HSD was despatched on December 31, by releasing the product to Petronet Mangalore Hassan Bangalore Pipeline Limited (PMHBPL) for supplies to Bangalore, sources said. The refinery, in which ONGC holds a majority stake, has a production capacity of around one lakh metric tonne of Euro-III compliant diesel with the rest of the production conforming to BS-II. After meeting Bangalore`s requirement of about 30 thousand metric tonnes (TMT) per month, MRPL is in a position to supply the product to other destinations, they said.
Source: The Pioneer, New Delhi, 3/1/2005

CNG/LPG
First CNG station of A’ bad inaugurated: The first compressed natural gas (CNG) station of Ahmedabad was inaugurated on December 31, 2004 by Chief Minister Narendra Modi. The inauguration of the station took place at Maninagar in the august presence of Minister of State for Energy, Saurabh Patel/ Former Minister of State for Defence Harin Pathak, Chairman of GSPC - CK Koshy, IAS, and Mayor of Ahmedabad - Aneesa Begum. An initiative of Gujarat Adani Energy Limited (GAEL), this small step is tantamount to leapfrogging into a new era of environment-friendly fuels for the city. Along with the Maninagar station/ GAEL is also geared up to start two more stations at Jamatpur and Naroda in a short time span.
Source: The Pioneer, New Delhi, /4/1/2005

New year's green gift more CNG stations: Delhi will be able to breathe easy in the New Year. In an attempt to check pollution in the capital and make it easier for more petrol or diesel vehicles to convert to the 'green' CNG, Delhi government will increase the number of filling stations from 125 to 132 by March 31.
Source: The Times of India, New Delhi, 2/1/2005

Light goods vehicles to be brought under CNG regime: Ruling out that Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) was responsible for the increasing level of nitrogen oxide (NO2) and respiratory suspended particles (RSP) at the meeting of the Bhure Lal Committee and the Delhi Government, it was decided that only CNG-based light goods vehicles would be registered in the Capital. The Government also decided not to allow light goods vehicles, which are older than eight years. Chief Secretary S Reghunathan, a senior IAS official Bhure Lal, Sunita Narain of CSE, Transport Commissioner and senior officials of Delhi Pollution Control Committee, attended the meeting.
Source: The Pioneer, New Delhi, 1/1/2005

Indraprastha Gas's CNG dispensing facility in Noida: Indraprastha Gas Ltd (IGL), the sole supplier of CNG and piped natural gas, ventured out into neighbouring townships of the national capital, setting up the CNG dispensing facility in Noida. IGL, which presently has 125 CNG stations in Delhi, set up two dispensing facilities at petrol stations of Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd in Noida, a company press release said.
Source: The Financial Express, New Delhi, 31/12/2004

CNG foray into NCR towns faces roadblock: Buoyed by Delhi’s successful tryst with natural gas, which had immensely helped in bringing air pollution down, the Centre had allocated 0.7 million standard cubic metre of natural gas for the four satellite townships of Faridabad, Gurgaon, Noida and Greater Noida for residential, transport, commercial and industrial use, but the planned foray by Indraprastha Gas Limited into these cities has been stonewalled and thus delayed by the Uttar Pradesh and Haryana governments on the ground that they want competition in the "business``. Paying scant regard to the fact that the Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has been trying to spread the use of gas into the National Capital Region to ensure that the air pollution levels are brought down there as well, both the U.P. and Haryana Government have been talking the language of some Gujarat-based gas suppliers and delaying the project.
Source: The Hindu, New Delhi, 29/12/2004

AMC clears CNG proposal: After sitting on its for close to four months, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation standing committee finally cleared the proposal for the purchase of 100 CNG buses. The AMC decision comes after pressure from the GPCB to clear the plan for CNG buses.
Source: The Times of India, Ahmedabad, 17/12/2004

Gujarat to open CNG stations: Gujarat is planning to start Compressed Natural Gas filling stations to control pollution. Chief Minister Narendra Modi announced before a high-level committee a time-bound roadmap for CNG supply management in Greater Ahmedabad, an official release said.
Source: Sahara Time, New Delhi, 18/12/2004

Tamper with a CNG kit at your own risk: With the process of converting autorickshaws to CNG finally about to begin in Ahmedabad, the newly formed task force will have more than one challenge on hand. Besides achieving the conversion of 5,000 autorickshaws by March, at rates economically feasible for owners, they will have to work out a system to ensure that those CNG kits are authentic and meet the safety norms.
Source: The Times of India, Ahmedabad, 13/12/2004

HPCL to set up 9 CNG outlets in city: The Adani group, the sole licensee for compressed natural gas (CNG) supply to Ahmedabad and Vadodara, has given its consent to the Gujarat State Government to allow Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) to sell CNG in select areas of Ahmedabad. To speed up the setting up of CNG stations in Ahmedabad, the state government has given permission to HPCL to set up nine CNG outlets and one mother station.
Source: The Times of India, Ahmedabad, 8/12/2004

Decks cleared for CNG arrival in March '05: CNG has been one of the most elusive promises so far in terms of riding the Ahmedabad city of its air pollution. The public, the stakeholders and the government have been waiting with bated breath for the stations to start, and to watch the vehicles plying on gas. After inordinate delays, discussions and accusations, finally a task force has been setting up to facilitate the actual implementation process and set new deadlines.
Source: The Times of India, Ahmedabad, 9/12/2004

Switch-to-gas plan before SC deadline doubtful: With the December 31, deadline set by the Bhure Lal Committee closing in; the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) has hastily evolved a draft action plan for industries here to switch over to natural gas as fuel. But the industrial sector's tepid response has highlighted the grey areas of this draft.
Source: The Times of India, Ahmedabad, 6/12/2004

Gujarat plans to introduce CNG Act in winter session: The Gujarat government is planning to introduce a CNG Act, which is likely to be tabled in the state Assembly in the coming winter session. The Act will be applicable to all the state industries, which use CNG as a fuel. The state government is also planning to introduce a new policy for generation of non-conventional and hydel power for the industrial units. Addressing a conference on 'energy management', organised by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), chief minister Narendra Modi said, "The state government will table CNG Act in the coming winter session of Assembly and will pass the Act for the benefit of the industries utilising natural gas as a raw material for their manufacturing units.
Source: The Financial Express, New Delhi, 4/12/2004

Wants CNG pollution check: Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit has asked the Transport department to find out if the rise in the level of nitrogen oxides (NOx) has to do with the introduction of CNG. NOx have turned out to be the latest pollutants while the level of usual suspects have gone down. Dikshit also asked the department to evaluate the efficiency of CNG in controlling pollution. Presiding over a review meeting of the department, she said while CNG had reduced pollution levels, there has been a rise in nitrogen oxides. While some have blamed the rise in NOx on CNG, power plants have also come under focus, she said. NOx are primary pollutants and react in the atmosphere to form ozone and nitrate particles that are very harmful. These pollutants form a photochemical smog that impairs visibility and causes health damage, the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) said. To bring down pollution, both hydrocarbons and NOx have to be controlled, it added.
Source: The Indian Express, New Delhi, 8/12/2004

LPG-run autos on short fuse: Notwithstanding the hour of the day, it is common to see a number of autorickshaws queueing up at most Auto Liquefied Dispensing Stations (ALDS) or LPG auto gas stations across Bangalore City. Regular shortage of gas and limited number of stations has become the bane of autorickshaw drivers. There are just 10 LPG auto gas stations in Bangalore at Mysore Road, Banashankari, Koramangala, Tumkur Road, Residency Road, Yelahanka and Rajajinagar among other places.
Source: Deccan Herald, Bangalore, 23/12/2004

Auto drivers oppose government’s LPG drive: Autorickshaw drivers are up in arms against the government for forcing them to convert their vehicles run on Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) "without providing adequate number of refill stations in Bangalore". The Transport Department is compelling three-wheeler drivers to adopt LPG. It had even set a deadline and offered Rs 2,000 subsidy to vehicles converting to the less-polluting fuel. But all that has not gone down well with the autorickshaw drivers who are now planning to launch a campaign against the conversions.
Source: The New Indian Express, Bangalore, 14/12/2004

Alarm after fire in LPG school van: An LPG-fitted van used for ferrying schoolchildren caught fire in Ghaziabad's Brij Vihar earlier this week. The incident has caused concerns among school authorities and parents in both Delhi and Ghaziabad.
Source: The Hindustan Times, New Delhi, 9/12/2004

Engineer's bid to make Guwahati first bio-diesel city: A railway engineer is in a dream of making Guwahati the first bio-diesel city in the world. This engineer, also known for obedience in his office, is busy giving his plans the touch of precision, day in, day out, at a miniature nursery in Pandu area here. He is unmindful of how others treat his dream and the nursery. He is Purnendu Mitra, a senior section engineer with the NF Railway. Reminiscing his entering this self-imposed extra-official mission, which has now become an obsession with him, Mitra said that he was connected with the science club movement when he was a school children. That was in the 1970s. His family lived in West Bengal then. Since his school days, he had the urge to explore clean energy sources.
Source: The Assam Tribune, Guwahati, 26/12/2004

Bio-diesel programme: The Chairman of the Indian Institute of Ecology and Environment, P. R. Trivedi, inaugurated a three-day training programme on the production of bio-diesel at the Delhi College of Engineering on Monday.
Source: The Hindu, New Delhi, 29/12/2004

ISMA flays oil firms for slow progress in `gasohol` programme: The Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) has accused the public sector oil companies of "dragging their feet" over implementation of the `gasohol` programme, which envisages countrywide coverage of 5 per cent ethanol-doped petrol by the end of the current year. The oil companies are yet to finalise their new ethanol tenders, despite the supply period for the previous ones expiring in June for Uttar Pradesh and in May for Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
Source: Business Line, New Delhi, 23/12/2004

Taskforce to decide on ethanol-blended petrol: The government has set up an inter-ministerial taskforce to look into smooth implementation of Ethanol-Blended Petrol Programme. In a statement in Parliament, Petroleum and Panchayati Raj Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar clarified that oil marketing companies will be statutorily required to lift ethanol and supply ethanol-blended petrol if the price of ethanol is competitive. The Government also justified discontinued fiscal incentive to ethanol-blend programme to meet steep increase in price of crude oil in 2004. The Government has discontinued since June 2004, excise duty waiver on ethanol-blended petrol, as well as reduction in additional excise duty on petrol meant for blending with ethanol.
Source: The Pioneer, New Delhi, 22/12/2004

Bio-diesel is the future fuel: Bio-diesel will soon emerge as a viable alternative fuel if ongoing vehicular experiments prove successful, says experts. State-owned refiner Indian Oil Corporation and carmaker Tata Motors jointly embarked on a programme in October to study the effects of bio-diesel blends in diesel passenger cars and light commercial vehicles under laboratory-controlled as well as field conditions. "We have carried out tests by adding five percent of bio-diesel in two cars and 10 per cent in one car, running them up to 5,000 km," IOC's senior research manager G.K. Acharya said. "We have also tested on two other vehicles, including a truck, and found the response good," Acharya said on the sidelines of a conference in Agra on better air quality.
Source: The Asian Age, New Delhi, 13/12/2004

Jatropha dream fading away? The flurry of activity that marked cultivation of Jatropha for production of bio-diesel has suddenly receded. Soon after Y S Rajasekhara Reddy took over as the Chief Minister six months ago, the officials proposed plantations in 40,000 acres saying that it would enable farmers make a lot of money. But they walked into a wall as they could not procure 400 tonnes quality seed required for 40,000 acres. Meanwhile, the companies (about 242), which showed interest in setting up diesel extraction plants, began having second thoughts. Prominent among them were Reliance, Godrej, Southern Bio Diesel and Natural Bio Energy.
Source: The New Indian Express, Hyderabad, 2/12/2004

Govt to launch bio-diesel mission soon: The government is preparing a national hydrogen roadmap and will launch a national mission on biodiesel soon as part of efforts to encourage use of alternative fuels. 'The government has set up a national mission for bio-diesel for which the ministry of rural development is the nodal ministry.
Source: The Times of India, New Delhi, 10/12/2004

Farmers wary of biodiesel plant: Despite the biodiesel plant (Jatropha) hype created by the state governments and notwithstanding the hard selling of such projects in Punjab and Haryana, farmers are wary of diversifying. A cross-section of farmers, seed suppliers and government officials, who interacted with TNS at the ongoing Agro-Tech Fair today, said much needs to be done to propagate this crop as a source of income. "The variety provided by the government is vulnerable to foggy condition. Further, nothing is being done to create a marketing strategy for the produce. A farmer, who dares to diversify, has to do it all by himself sans government support," says Raj Sher Singh Chinna, a Jatropha farmer from Hoshiarpur who suffered losses due to foggy conditions. He adds that the 'Manipur variety' may be more suitable for this region. Economics of Jatropha plantation states that while the establishment and maintenance cost of the crop is Rs 25,000 per acre, it may yield 25 to 30 quintals of seed per acre, which produce 45 per cent oil on seed weight basis. Government statistics says if 10 million hectares of India's wastelands are used for biodiesel production, with a modest estimate of 1.5 tons of seeds per hectare, 4 million tons of biodiesel would be produced, which is one tenth of the country's annual oil requirement.
Source: The Tribune, New Delhi, 6/12/2004

Hydrogen/Electric/alternate technologies
Hydrogen blended CNG to power Delhi vehicles: Delhi roads will see hydrogen run vehicles from next year. To begin with, the government will run about a dozen commercial vehicles in which hydrogen would be blended with CNG in a 1:9 ratio.This would be the first project on hydrogen blending in the country and the cost of installing hydrogen CNG fuel stations and production of hydrogen would be roughly Rs 20 crores.
Source: The Statesman, New Delhi, 27/10/2004

From Bangalore to Chennai on solar-powered car: When Syed Sajjad Ahmed drove into the Marina Beach on Friday on his electro-solar car, it was an amusing sight for other autorickshaw drivers and onlookers.The vehicle moved without any noise; it looked more like a horse carriage, only without the horses. It certainly was nothing like they have seen before. In the words of Mr. Ahmed, a second hand computer peripherals vendor from Bangalore, the vehicle was technically the future: A solar-powered car powered by photovoltaic cells. It weighs a little over 300 kg and can reach a maximum speed of around 50 km. Six hours of charging the photovoltaic cells could run the car for 120 km. If the photovoltaic cells fail, the battery can still be charged from a power line.
Source: The Hindu, Chennai, 10/10/2004

Hydrogen Energy Board to discuss panel proposals: The National Hydrogen Energy Board (NHEB), which is meeting in New Delhi under the chairmanship of the Minister for Non-Conventional Energy Sources, Mr Vilas Muttemwar, is to take up the recommendations of the Group on Hydrogen Energy for consideration and approval. The Group on Hydrogen Energy, set up by the Government last year, has recommended, among other things, the setting up of demonstration projects on hydrogen production, storage and distribution and its applications in decentralised power generation and automobiles. Several fiscal and financial measures, including the provision of Rs 250 crore in the next three years, have been recommended by the group.
Source: Business Line, New Delhi, 15/9/2004

Government to allocate Rs 250 crore for hydrogen energy projects: The Government has decided to allocate Rs 250 crore for projects taken up under the hydrogen energy programme over the next three years. The projects include Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOC) plan to make available hydrogen-blended CNG fuel in Delhi, Mathura and Faridabad by June 2005. The Planning Commission has also recommended an additional corpus fund of Rs 200 crore. This was decided in the second meeting of the National Hydrogen Energy Board (NHEB), which was set up by the Government. "By June 2005, some gas stations in New Delhi, Faridabad and Mathura will start blending ten per cent hydrogen with CNG. This will reduce the pollution levels caused by the fumes generated from the vehicles," said Dr S.K. Chopra, Senior Advisor in the Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources. IOC has sought Rs 25 crore for the project.
Source: Business Line, New Delhi, 16/9/2004

Hydrogen energy projects cleared: The National Hydrogen Energy Board today cleared projects on production, storage, delivery and application of Hydrogen that will be undertaken in the first phase of Hydrogen Energy Programme in the next three years for which Rs 450 crore fund has been mooted.
Source: The Hindu, New Delhi, 16/9/2004

CM wants SPV on lines of Metro: Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit has asked transport department to float Special Purposes Vehicle (SPV) on the lines of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to the execution of two mega projects - High Capacity Bus System and Electric Trolley Bus System. The Delhi Government also directed transport department to explore the possibility of setting up Delhi Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority to achieve a sustainable and balanced public transport system in the city. Pushing ahead with a multi-modal transport system that is not only modern but also environment-friendly and futuristic, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit has asked the transport department to float an SPV on the lines of DMRC for execution of projects like HCBS and ETBS in the Capital.
Source: The Pioneer, New Delhi, 4/1/2005

One roof for capital’s transport issues: The Delhi government is geared to set up an organisation that will take care of the Capital’s transport projects. As per Delhi Urban Environment and Infrastructure Development 2021, the government will set up the Integrated Metropolitan Transport Authority. Officials say it may even come through as early even come through as early as February-end.
Source: The Indian Express, New Delhi, 4/1/2005

More flyovers in line to ease Capital chaos: The Urban Development Minister, Dr A.K. Walia, is ambitiously pursuing his plan to make the Capital the 'City of Flyovers' as he had termed it not so long ago. After opening almost six flyovers on Ring Road and Outer Ring Road this year, the Ministry has approved a slew of projects in a bid to ease traffic congestion. ''While most of the projects are aimed towards making the Ring Road a signal-free zone for traffic, we are also planning a whole lot of projects keeping the future in mind. In the first week of January, we will also survey and assess various parts of the city with officials from PWD, DTTDC, MCD and DDA and decide where flyovers or underpasses are required. Besides these projects, our work on widening of the Ring Road is also on in full swing,'' said Walia.
Source: The Indian Express, New Delhi, 30/12/2004

Masterplan proposes tube roads: To reduce the vehicular congestion on the streets the DDA, in its first draft of Masterplan 2021, has proposed to construct alternative links and access corridors around existing roads. The ''alternate links'' are to function as ''urban relief roads.'' Apart from these, DDA will also be considering underground roads to ease traffic pressure, while addressing the problem of increasing air pollution. According to DDA, vehicular traffic is a major contributor to air pollution, specially in CP, Chandni Chowk, ITO and Karol Bagh, which have more traffic than the road capacity. These areas were identified as the transit point between East and West, North and South Delhi. The proposal states underground or ''tube roads'' should be constructed here while the surface should be pedestrianised.
Source: The Indian Express, New Delhi, 31/12/2004

Improving urban public transport top priority: PM: The government announced plans to launch a programme to reverse the urban decay and make the country's major cities more liveable. It has also said that improvement of urban public transport is a national priority. Speaking at the inaugural of the underground corridor of Delhi Metro here, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the government plans to launch a national urban renewal mission to redevelop big cities with special attention to the requirements of public amenities and public transport by every section of the society.
Source: The Economic Times, New Delhi, 20/12/2004

City’s vehicle population now bloats to 21 lakh: The vehicle population in Bangalore city is exploding and in the next one week will touch the staggering 21-lakh mark - three times more then what it was a decade ago. The transformation of Garden City into Hi-Tech City has witnessed an enormous increase in the number of vehicles on its small roads. ``In 1994, we had just 7.17 lakh vehicles. Now it is 20.95 lakh,`` a Transport Department officer told this website's newspaper. With around 800 vehicles being registered in the five Regional Transport Offices (RTOs) in the City every day, it will take just a few more days to cross the 21-lakh milestone.
Source: The New Indian Express, Bangalore, 10/12/2004

Vehicle boom in Belgaum: Believe it or not, while the population of Belgaum city in Karnataka is 5 lakh, the city has more than 1.75 lakh vehicles. These vehicles consume 1.25 lakh litres of petrol and diesel every day. As many as 40 petrol bunks located in the city are busy in filling the petrol for these vehicles. There was a day, when possessing a cycle was considered as a prestigious thing in the society. The student community as well as the teachers were to come to colleges on the cycles and each college had cycle stands, which were full of the cycles. However the days have changed and the values too.
Source: The New Indian Express, Bangalore, 12/12/2004

Rs 1.65-crore study on transport system: Keeping in mind the 2010 Commonwealth Games in the Capital, the Delhi Government has approved a sum of Rs 1.65 crore for conducting a feasibility study for the electric trolley bus and light rail transit, tram corridor and high capacity bus system. The Finance and Expenditure Committee (EFC) of the Delhi Government has also cleared various schemes to the tune of Rs 20 crores. These schemes include strengthening of Anuvrat Marg, Lado Sarai turning to Andheria Mod and Road no 66 from Gokul Puri flyover to GT Road, improvement of drainage, footpath of Aurobindo Marg and creation of portable cabin to replace tin sheds in various schools.
Source: The Pioneer, New Delhi, 15/12/2004

Hi-tech test for high capacity buses: The High capacity buses are the first buses in India to undergo finite element analysis (FEA) test. The test, conducted by an independent agency, Central Institute of Road Transport, is expected to strengthen the body of the buses by highlighting its weak points. "The test will highlight where the bus needs to be strengthened and where it needs to be welded. All of these requirements will come to light once the testing is over", said an official of Delhi Transport Department.
Source: The Pioneer, New Delhi, 14/12/2004

Metro, HCBs & now trolley buses for spoilt Delhi: Delhi is all set to be a world-class city. At least that is what the Transport Department would like us to believe. After High Capacity Buses now it is the turn of Electric Trolley Buses to run on Delhi roads. Electric trolley buses are passenger buses with an electric motor that draws power from overhead wires. "They are a parallel system to High Capacity Buses which will soon be seen on Delhi roads. So far, two corridors have been identified which are Hari Nagar to Central Secretariat and Badarpur to Pragati Maidan", said a senior official of the Transport Department.
Source: The Pioneer, New Delhi, 9/12/2004

Hope floats for DTC's dead fleet: The DTC's entire fleet of redundant diesel buses may hit the roads again. The rebirth will be made possible by IIT, Delhi, which has developed a "hybrid bus" powered by a battery. An engine, the size of a generator, in turn charges this battery. The IIT has written to the transport department, offering to convert its defunct diesel buses into road-worthy battery-operated vehicles.
Source: The Hindustan Times, New Delhi, 8/12/2004

It’s rush hour on CV Street ahead of Euro-II norms: The commercial vehicle industry is in overdrive. This follows the heavy rush among truck buyers to advance purchases in view of the Euro-II emission norms that come into effect in non-metros from April '05. As against 27% year-on-year growth during the April-October period this fiscal, truck makers are expecting vehicle sales to grow by 45-50% during the remaining four months of '04-05. Currently, vehicles complying with Euro-II norms are mandatory in the top 12 cities of the country. However, over 90% of commercial vehicles are registered outside these cities. Currently, Euro-I norms are mandatory in these cities.
Source: The Economic Times, New Delhi, 6/12/2004

Innova to step into Qualis` track with new gen diesel: The first quarter of 2005 may see Toyota Qualis fade into memory lane and the Innova, a crossover between a family saloon and utility vehicle, step into its illustrious shoes. While there is no official word from Toyota Kirloskar Motors (TKM) on the status of the new innovative multi-utility vehicle (IMV), market sources insist that Qualis is being replaced next fiscal. Though Innova, as the vehicle is called in the Far East, may practically create a new user segment, the big gainers in the people mover MPV segment may be Chevy Tavera, Mahindra Scorpio and Tata Sumo.
Source: The Economic Times, New Delhi, 6/12/2004

Kathmandu lauded at air quality meet: The significant decline in the air pollution level of Kathmandu has been appreciated in the fourth Better Air Quality Workshop being participated by 650 experts from 35 Asian countries in Agra, the city of the Taj Mahal. The air pollution level in Kathmandu has decreased markedly as the PM 10 (particulate matter less than 10 microns in diameter), a major air pollutant, has gone down by seven percent.
Source: The Kathmandu Post, Kathmandu, 9/12/2004

'CNG act to be passed to ensure standards': Bangladesh Minister for Energy and Mineral Resources AKM Mosharraf Hossain said the government would take an initiative to pass 'CNG Act' in the Jatiya Sangsad to help all property follow the CNG standards and codes. 'The CNG security can not be ensured due to the involvement of some dishonest and unscrupulous persons in the CNG programmes', he said while inaugurating a three-day workshop on 'Promoting CNG standards and codes' at the IDB Bhaban in Dhaka.
Source: The Bangladesh Observer, Dhaka, 5/12/2004

Air pollution claims around 1 M people worldwide annually: Around one million people die each year worldwide as a result of urban air pollution. Million cases of respiratory illnesses are caused by air pollution Dr. Surian Batagoda, Director, Global Affairs, Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources. Said at a Seminar on air pollution conducted by the Green Movement of Sri Lanka at the SLAAS. Measure to reduce air pollution has not been implement yet. Some day air pollution within the Colombo Municipal Council area has increased over the standard level he said.
Source: The Island (Internet), Sri Lanka, 1/12/2004

Proposal to phase out old vehicles: National Workshop for the Improvement of Urban Air Quality in Pakistan recommended transport-planning, infrastructure for better supply of CNG, introduction of new-dedicated CNG buses and re-powering existing buses into CNG. Three-day conference on its concluding day here at a local hotel made the recommendations, which would be presented before the Lahore High Court by the Lahore Clean Air Commission. After two-day hectic discussions among environmentalists from across the globe and major stakeholders in the country, it was recommended that old vehicles should be phased out and new ones be introduced.
Source: The Nation (Internet), Pakistan, 16/12/2004

Govt told to ply vehicles on franchise routes: Changes in motor law ordered: The Supreme Court asked the Punjab government (Pakistan) to consider operating its own vehicles on franchise routes awarded to private transport companies in the province. The Punjab government was also directed to suitably amend the Motor Vehicle Ordinance 1965 in public interest by ensuring fair business opportunity to transporters. The amendment should also ensure provision of better travelling facilities to commuters in a dignified manner, the judgment said. Authored by Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, the 49-page judgment directed the provincial government to take constitutional or administrative steps in the public interest for solving transport problems in urban areas of the province.
Source: Dawn (Internet), Pakistan, 15/12/2004

What if CNG station explodes? CNG stations in the thickly populated areas have become a looming danger for the residents living in adjacent localities and any incident of blast or gas leakage could take a heavy toll. An incident of similar nature has already taken place at a CNG station at Multan Road (Pakistan) in which one person died and other was badly injured. The incident took place at one of the CNG stations, which was constructed according to the rule and regulation set by Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority. Inspector Explosives, Haroon Rehman, told The Nation that blast took place after different gases triggered a spark that climaxed into inferno. He further said losses from such type of blasts could be maximum, and only checked through proper precautionary measures.
Source: The Nation (Internet), Pakistan, 10/12/2004

CNG impresses Sindh Minister: Unable to visit the Taj Mahal due to shortage of time during his three-day stay at Agra, Muhammad Noman Saigal, Adviser to Chief Minister of Sindh and Provincial Minister for Environment and Alternate Energy, will nevertheless have enough to talk about the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) technology back home in Karachi. "I have been really impressed by the way vehicular pollution in Delhi has been reduced by shifting over to CNG and sincerely feel that if the technology is adopted in Karachi, air pollution will come down there also,`` Mr. Saigal told. Mr. Saigal, who was here to attend the Better Air Quality workshop, organised by the World Bank, the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers and the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests, felt that the causes of air pollution in India and Pakistan were the same and the two countries could share their experiences in overcoming these.
Source: The Hindu, New Delhi, 10/12/2004