By Ifham Nizam
Nearly 40 per cent of the entire vehicle fleet in Sri Lanka is below Euro standards when it comes to their emissions, thus there should be a mechanism to upgrade them systematically, Environment Minister Anura Priyadharshana Yapa revealed yesterday.
Addressing a seminar titled ‘Air Pollution and Environment’ and an Awareness Programme for Environment Police Unit in Colombo yesterday, he said Environment Ministry will take steps to work with various stake holders, particularly the Transport Ministry, to minimize pollution caused by buses.
Yapa stressed that the Environment Ministry will play a key role and give high priority to reduce the number of vehicles that emit dangerous fumes. His Ministry would encourage drivers to ensure that only suitable vehicles run on the roads.
He said that State-owned vehicles, particularly buses, are the major contributor to air pollution.
After the implementation of the Vehicle Emission Testing Programme 19 months ago, 78 per cent of the 1.8 million vehicles in the country had been tested and it was found that between 15 and 16 per cent were not suitable to run on the roads, according to Sri Lanka Emission Standards, the Minister noted.
Yapa also said that the random testing programme in Kandy, last week, showed that 36 per cent of the State-owned vehicles were not suitable to run on the roads while 18.5 per cent of the privately owned vehicles were not suitable.
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