Old vehicles should be taken off city roads

By Ananda KANNANGARA

ananda@sundayobserver
 

Certain environmentalists say that old vehicles should be banned entering the city of Colombo. When the Sunday Observer asked the public about their view on this issue, Attorney-at -law Gamunu Senadeera asked the Motor Traffic Department to commence an islandwide program to check the engines of all vehicles and find out whether they were in a proper working condition.

Meanwhile, Government executive, Kumarasiri Hettige said authorities must come to a certain decision before banning old vehicles on the city roads.

He said on one hand old vehicles add the historical value and beauty to the city roads, but on the other they pollute the environment due to using old engines.

However he asked the authorities to ban belching vehicles as the initial step of the program.

“Authorities must first think about a healthy society and give priority to protect the environment from pollution”.

Hettige also said in some Western countries 20 year old vehicles are not permitted to ply the highways.

“But, that cannot be carried out in our country overnight and therefore I propose to the Motor Traffic Department to launch an islandwide program to examine the condition of every vehicle. So that, they can decide which vehicles should be banned in the city.

He also urged authorities to think about the financial position of people who cannot afford to buy new vehicles.

Additional Secretary, K. C. Sherifdeen welcomed the proposal of banning old vehicles in the city roads and asked the authorities to impose the ban not only in the city of Colombo, but also in other major cities such as Kandy and Galle. “As everybody knows, the cities of Kandy and Galle are very busy during the day with heavy traffic congestion”.

Student, Ananda College, Colombo, Kanchana Saparamadu spoke against the proposal, saying that 30 per cents of the people who travel to Colombo everyday were not the owners of new vehicles.

He said his father is a Government servant and draws a monthly salary of Rs. 24,000. “We have an old Japanese car which was manufactured in 1987 and if old cars are banned in the city by the Government, I do not think people like us will be able to buy new cars. Therefore, this proposal should be dropped for the sake of poor section in the society”.

Finance Manager in a mercantile bank, Raja Paranagama too opposed the proposal regarding the banning of old vehicles in the city since it will badly affect middle class families. But, authorities must take stern action against belching vehicles which cause health problems”.

He said, as in Sri Lanka no belching vehicles are permitted to enter any city road in Melbourne and Singapore and if such a vehicle is detected the owner is fined and the licence is suspected for four weeks. Thereafter, the vehicle is despatched to a state owned registered garage for repairs and the cost has to be borne by the owner”.

University lecturer, Dr. Kapila Gammanpila requested the Government to think twice before imposing a Law to ban old vehicles from the city roads. He asked authorities not to consider the year of manufacture or the outer look of the vehicle other than the condition of the engine. “If the engine is not in a good condition, then it must be taken off the roads to protect the environment”.

Coordination Secretary in a public institution, Ajith Karunaratna welcomed the decision and said that Colombo roads are congested not because of old vehicles but also due to a heavy load of brand new vehicles. Therefore, I first propose to the authorities to control all types of vehicles including containers, lorries and long vehicles in the Colombo city”. He said in Italy, no vehicles are permitted to enter the city of Milano for two days in a week to protect the environment and also to reduce the congestion. “The Milano Local Authority provides a better train service for people during this two days and I propose the Lankan Government also to implement such a scheme. It will also help to eliminate the environmental pollution”.

Businessman, Murugesu Balasubramaniam of Wattala urged the Government not to ban old vehicles in the city and proposed to the Motor Traffic Department to establish State owned garages and motor workshops outside the city limits to repair engines and belching vehicles if this is done no belching vehicles would ply the city roads”. He however said old vehicles also add the beauty to roads. Post Master, Somaratna Jayasekara of Hokandara showed his anger over the proposal of banning old vehicles in the city roads. “Old vehicles are assets to a country such as Sri Lanka where we boast of our 2500 year old cultural heritage. He said if anybody goes to a country such as India and Rome, a variety of old vehicles could be seen on city roads. Factory owner, Upuli Vittachchi of Bambalapitiya welcomed the decision of banning old vehicles in the city and urged the authorities to ban even bullock carts and old tractors which tarnish the beauty of the city.

K. S. Dias requested authorities not to determine the condition of a vehicle from its outer appearance. He said the condition of a vehicle must be decided by the condition of the engine. He said there are pajeros, intercoolers and various other new vehicles which emanate thick smoke and pollute the environment badly. N. P. Nissanka said that he was a lorry driver transporting goods to various places in the city. “But, due to security reasons we are not permitted to transport our goods to tourist hotels or any other places in Wellawatta, Bambalapitiya, Kollupitiya and Galle Face”. He therefore, requested authorities to issue special passes for lorries to take goods to places in the city.

Resident of Borella, H. N. Somadasa said he has a new van to transport goods to various places in the city. He requested the police to issue permits for their vans and lorries to transport goods to places in the city.

Attorney-at-law, Kumari Jayasekara spoke against the proposal of banning old vehicles and asked the Government to ban only belching vehicles which pollute the environment. “I propose to the Motor Traffic Department to implement a scheme to grant long term bank loans for vehicle owners to repair their engines, so that no belching vehicles would ply roads”.

Student, Colombo Medical faculty, Wathsala Nanayakkara was not in favour of banning old vehicles in the city considering that they belong to poor people in the country. However, she said due to the heavy load of vehicles on the city roads today, there will be not only environmental pollution but also noise pollution. Therefore, I propose to the Government to control the issuing of duty free vehicle permits to public servants or any other persons. As we know Government grants duty free vehicle permits to people every five years and this will be another reason for environment pollution and not only due to old cars plying the city roads.