Around 3,390 buses of the 4,607 that run on CNG and diesel need their air filters to be immediately replaced by the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply & Transport (BEST).
The air filter is a pocket through which the exhaust passes through before coming out the pipe. The process ensures that toxic sediments are thrown out. Also, the filters reduce at least one-fourth of the pollution caused by vehicles. “If you don’t maintain or replace the filters every six months at least, instead of emitting carbon dioxide the bus starts emitting carbon monoxide, thereby causing tremendous harm,” an official from the BEST said on the condition of anonymity.
The BEST has 1,200 diesel buses, which are polluting environment, while the rest run on CNG which, though less harmful than their diesel counterparts, also play a part in emitting exhaust that affects the air quality. “The major effects of the air pollutants will be seen in South Mumbai since almost 90 per cent of our buses are operating from Colaba to Mahim,” the official added.
BEST general manager Jagdish Patil, however, denied that the filters that are to be replaced are at the end of their lifespan and said that every filter has its own lifespan and will be replaced in a phases whenever needed. “The information is not about filter replacement. The BEST committee, which was held before the budget (November 9), had even given its approval for changing the air filters of those buses that need the replacement. So it’s not that they are almost at the end of their lifespan. They are just to be replaced, which our people will soon do as the committee has cleared the proposal,” Jagdish Patil said.
