Pollution levels surge in Bengaluru as metro use decreases after fare hike
Bengaluru: Pollution levels in Bengaluru have witnessed a significant increase following the fare hike for Namma Metro on February 9, with a noticeable shift in travel patterns as commuters turn to road transport options.
Data from the National Air Quality Monitoring Centre reveals a rise in air pollution, coinciding with a drop in metro ridership, a trend also highlighted in ongoing research at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), as reported by Deccan Herald on Wednesday.
The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) has confirmed about a 10.5 percent dip in daily ridership since the fare increase. Yashvanth Chavan, official spokesperson, acknowledged the decline, adding that the corporation is still evaluating the full impact.
Commuters like Sathyanarayan M, a content developer, have shifted away from the metro due to the rising cost of travel. “The fare from Yelachenahalli to MG Road has doubled to Rs 66, making it too expensive. I now prefer using my Bullet motorcycle which requires 1 litre of petrol but is still cheaper and convenient,” he told the news outlet.
Research from the IISc’s Sustainable Transportation Lab, led by Professor Ashish Verma, indicates that many former metro riders are now opting for city buses, two-wheelers, and cars. “We will be able to put a number on these changes within the next two days. Empirically, the AQI data suggests the hypothesis that it is correlated to people moving away from Namma Metro to road transport,” he said.
Air quality data recorded during peak hours (10:00 AM and 6:00 PM) before and after the fare hike shows a marked increase in pollutants, added DH. On February 10, the first Monday after the fare hike, the average PM 2.5 levels in the Jayanagar 5th Block area surged to 112-114 microgram/cubic metre compared to 43-54 microgram/cubic metre before the hike.
A senior official noted that traffic congestion and construction dust were major contributors to the rising pollution levels. He said that vehicle movement stirs up dust, exacerbating the pollution problem, adding that this highlights the need to reduce the number of vehicles on the road and shift to public transport.
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India has agreed already to drop its tariffs to nothing: President Trump
New York/Washington, May 7 (PTI): US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said India has “agreed” to drop its high tariffs “to nothing”.
“I mean, India as an example, has one of the highest tariffs in the world. We’re not going to put up with that, and they’ve agreed already to drop it. They’ll drop it to nothing. They’ve already agreed. They would have never done that for anybody else but me,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
Trump and visiting Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke to reporters as they met in the Oval Office to discuss the US-Canada trade.
“So we’re going to put down some numbers and we’re going to say our country is open for business and they’re going to come in and they’re going to pay for the privilege of being able to shop in the United States of America. It’s very simple. It’s very simple,” he added.
In the past, Trump has called India “tariff king” and a “big abuser”.
Last month, Trump had said that negotiations with India over a bilateral trade deal are “coming along great” and he thinks “we’ll have a deal with India”.
