RTO, APD paper reveals impact of air pollution on health of Mangaluru street vendors

coastaldigest.com news network
December 6, 2018

Mangaluru, Dec 6: In a bid to understand how pollution is affecting people’s health on a daily basis, Mangaluru’s Regional transport Office (RTO) in association with the Anti-Pollution Drive Foundation (APD) has released a paper revealing the ‘impact of air pollution on the health of outdoor workers’ at a unique event in the coastal city. The paper is based on the results of a series of Pulmonary Function Tests (PFT) conducted under APD’s ‘Shuddha Gaali’ project. This was the second phase to their previous assessment of traffic policemen and auto rickshaw drivers in Mangaluru.

Addressing the gathering at the programme held as a part of Air Pollution Awareness Month at the RTO on Tuesday, 4th December Karnataka State Pollution Control Board Senior Scientific Officer Jayaprakash Nayak said that it is the right time to instil the responsibility of environment conservation within us before it is too late. “Smoking vehicles like buses and auto rickshaws are the main reasons behind air pollution. Emission test centres must be more prudent with their approach towards such vehicles and restrict issuing emission test certificates to polluting vehicles if they do not pass the test,” he said.

Asserting the importance of each tree in the life span of a human being he said that each individual adult needs three cylinders of oxygen every day while a single cylinder of oxygen costs about Rs. 2500. “After doing the math, it is concluded that a person would need a minimum of Rs.7.5 crores worth of oxygen in their entire lifetime. A single tree can cater to the oxygen needs of hundreds of people. We as responsible citizens of this city must grow trees and reduce non bio-degradable wastes as much as possible”

Speaking on behalf of APD, K V Raman said, “Anti-Pollution Drive is doing every bit possible for us to have a safer environment with ambient air to breathe in. We should all take responsibility for our actions and join hands with them to form a better future for all of us”

Regional Transport Office Assistant Mr. Gangadhara warned about health hazards Mangaloreans are experiencing due to air pollution and emphasized people to take up healthy conveyance habits and reduce dependency on personalized vehicles for travel. Road Transport Office In-charge and coordinator of the event John Misquith and environmentalist Madhav Ullal were also present on the dais.

Speaking about planting trees to bring down the pollution level in Mangalore, Mr. Ullal said that given a chance to plant trees around Mangaluru, he will “definitely plant more trees and take responsibility for their growth”.

“Pulmonary Function Test Results show 35% have restrictive lung capacity.”

As part of the drive, a study was conducted on the impact of vehicular air pollution on outdoor workers such as street vendors, KSRTC bus drivers and city bus drivers. Pulmonary Function Test was done on 174 outdoor workers and the test results were announced at the programme. The report stated that 104 candidates (59.7%) showed normal health. However, 61 (35%) of them showed to be restrictive; 51 of the restrictive cases were non-smokers. A total of 9 candidates (3.4%) showed to be obstructive out of which 4 were smokers.

Dr. Irfan Kandal, a city based Pulmonologist said that this was a preliminary study and suggested DLCO (Diffusion Lung Capacity for Carbon Monoxide) and Chest Radiography (Chest X-Ray and CT Thorax) to conclude further results.

Commenting on the results of the PFT, APD Chief Abdullah A Rehman said, “Smoke emitting vehicles are a nuisance to society, public health and the economic profile of cities. Stringent action must be taken by Government to monitor emissions and tighten the norms thereby ensuring strict adherence to emission laws”.

He concluded by saying, “The Government must conduct more tests like these so as to get a better idea of air pollution on a larger scale. APD will always stand in support the Government to conduct the tests.”

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News Network
March 27,2024

Bengaluru: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday launched simultaneous raids in multiple places, including Bengaluru and Shivamogga.

Reports suggested that the ongoing raids are in connection with the Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast in Bengaluru’s Rameshwaram Cafe on March 1. The blast had injured at least ten people as per the police report.

The Central Crime Branch (CCB) had launched an investigation alongside the NIA, and the trail of the suspect led them to Tumakuru first and subsequently to Ballari. Investigators believe that the bomb was planted by Mussavir Hussain Shazib, a handler of the Islamic State’s Shivamogga module who was aided by another IS handler called Ahmed Taahaa.

Sources in the know said that Shazib and Taahaa had stayed in Chennai for about a month between January and February using fake credentials. The names of the suspects were identified after they traced the cap worn by Shazib to a shop in a mall in Chennai. The cap, which was abandoned by the bomber in Bengaluru after the blast, was reportedly bought by Taahaa, around January-end.

As per the NIA, Shazib hails from Masjid Road in Thirthahalli, Shivamogga district, and Taahaa from Fish Market Road, Soppu Gude, Thirthahalli Rural. Both "wanted" suspects have been termed "absconders" by the NIA.

The NIA has questioned seven jailed terror suspects so far in connection with the blast. The investigation agency had also obtained seven-day custody of a jailed terror suspect named Maaz Muneer Ahmed.

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News Network
March 26,2024

scam.jpg

Mangaluru: Officials from Cyber Economic and Narcotics Crime Police Station in Mangaluru have arrested a man for allegedly engaging in an online fraud by deceiving a person on the pretext of offering a part-time job. The arrested is Saddam Gauri alias Bavuri, 30, from Rajasthan.

City police commissioner Anupam Agrawal said the CEN police received a complaint regarding an online scam related to a part-time job offer.

Police registered a case under sections 66(C) and 66(D) of the IT Act, along with IPC Section 420. The complainant had received a link via WhatsApp from an unknown number, purportedly offering a part-time job opportunity.

Upon clicking the link, the complainant was instructed to complete certain tasks to earn money. However, during the process, the complainant incurred a loss of Rs 1.1 lakh.

Following an investigation into the matter, the CEN police successfully arrested the suspect and presented him before the court. In the course of arrest, police seized two mobile phones, eight debit cards, four bank cheque books, Aadhaar card, PAN card, and other relevant documents from the accused.

The arrest was made possible through the efforts of CEN station inspector Shyam Sundar and his team, under the guidance of City Crime Records Bureau (CCRB) ACP Ravish Nayak and DCP Siddharth Goyal.

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News Network
March 28,2024

Mangaluru, Mar 28: Dakshina Kannada deputy commissioner Mullai Muhilan MP has warned the individuals and political parties against the poll code violations during private events. 
 
“Private events such as marriages, birthdays, housewarming ceremonies, and other non-political programmes do not require any permission. However, one should ensure that there is no violation of the model code of conduct (MCC) at these functions. Permission is needed if the events are attended by politicians or candidates,” the DC said. 

He said that these gatherings will be under the surveillance of MCC teams, as there are chances of luring voters by campaigning and supplying food, said the DC. The district has 38,386 new voters, of which, 19,619 are men.

He said that the notification of election in Dakshina Kannada Lok Sabha constituency will be issued soon, and the filing of nominations will be held between 11 am and 3 pm till April 4. 

Only five persons, including the candidate, will be allowed to enter the returning officer’s chamber to submit the nominations. A facilitation centre will be opened at the DC’s office. 

The expenditure of the candidate will be counted from the day the candidate files the nomination.

The DC said that the district is not an expenditure-sensitive constituency. Assistant expenditure observers and expenditure observers will monitor the expenditure of the candidates. An expenditure book will be provided to the candidate to record expenditure incurred, he explained.

Further, he said that no election materials can be printed without the name and address of the publishers, and the number of copies printed. Separate permission should be availed for procession prior to the submission of nomination papers from the ARO office, through the single-window system.

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