ISLAMABAD, Sept 13: Ever increasing number of vehicles is the major source of pollutions in the urban centres of the country.

This was revealed in: “Country Assessment Report 2002” compiled by the ministry of environment, rural development and local government. The report said number of vehicles have jumped from 0.8 million to 4.0 million in a short span of 20 years, an increase of more than 500 per cent.

This showed that compound growth of vehicles in Pakistan was 12 per cent per annum and increasing at an alarming rate despite the slow economic activity in the country following 9/11 incident.

The report also mentioned, the high concentration of Suspended Particulate Matters (SPM) was due to two-stroke gasoline vehicles and diesel driven public transport vehicles, which has increased by 1,750 per cent and 200 to 300 per cent respectively since 1980. The report recalled that a study carried out by the World Bank in Bangladesh revealed that two-stroke vehicles using straight mineral oil instead of 2T oil as lubricant emitted tiny particulate matters (PM 2.5) and contributed in increasing overall level of SPM.

Another study conducted by the Hydro Carbon Institute of the country showed that two-stroke rickshaws in Pakistan used excessive lubricant (12 per cent) instead of 2-3 per cent leading to high exhaust emissions.

The report said diesel vehicles due to overloading, faulty injection nozzles and weak engine emitted excessive graphite carbon (visible smoke).

It maintained that Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF), a devise used in many countries to control emissions in diesel vehicles required low sulphur fuel, could not be fitted in vehicles in the country, since diesel available in the market contained one per cent sulphur. However, the report mentioned with the improved design of new car engines and conversion of more than 200,000 old vehicles to CNG, pollution load in many urban centres has started to decline.

It further added that around 15 vehicle tune-up demonstration centres have been established in the country with a $3 million revolving loan fund to encourage the private sector to set up more tune-up centres in the country.