Patna: Patna metro rail project, up on its completion, will help the state reduce carbon emission substantially. It was found in environment’ impact assessment that carbon emission will be reduced by 1.12 lakh tons by 2031. This creates not only the possibility of improvement in air quality but there is also a possibility of reduction in global warming.
Officials of Patna Metro Rail Corporation (PMRC), being developed by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) as the technical consultant for urban development and housing department (UDHD), said that the operation of the metro rail would change the face of the city. “It will not only facilitate people commute from one place to other, it will also improve the air quality of the city. Ambient air quality of Patna has been very poor, which is mainly contributed by vehicles. Diesel and petrol vehicles emit carbon in huge volume, which causes problems like air pollution and global warming. With metro operating in Patna city, carbon emission will reduce considerably,” said an officer of the PMRC.
“It is extremely dangerous to breath in Patna air and the level of air pollution is very high in comparison with the permissible standards. Number of vehicles in the city has increased manifold. Number of two wheelers and four wheelers has increased considerably. With the metro coming in to operation, people will not only get relieved of air pollution but it will also reduce the pollution caused by private vehicles. If somehow number of vehicles can be reduced on the roads of Patna, the pollution will also go down and air quality will also improve,” argued the official.
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The beginning of metro rail will reduce the number of vehicles, auto, tempo, busses and cars considerably which will result in reduced pollution and better air quality. With the start of Metro Rail, thousands of rounds of private and commercial vehicles and vehicles operating from nearby areas will reduce in priority corridor alone covering Malahi Pakdi, Khemnichak, Bhootnath Road, Zero Mile and Patliputra Bus Terminal. People will prefer Metro over car, auto and tempo as it will save time and money. Smokes from private and commercial vehicles will reduce to great extent after Metro coming in to operation.
In addition, metro rail has such regenerative braking system which also generates electricity and which can be used for other purposes of metro rail or can be reverted to the power grid. This reduces the cost of metro operation and also the energy expenses of metro rail can be reduced by this.
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State sets 2024 as deadline for Net Zero Bihar
The state government has set 2040 as deadline to make Bihar net-zero carbon emission state. The then chairman of Bihar State Pollution Control Board (BSPCB) Ashokk Ghosh had said that Bihar has been proactive in pursing the objective. In order to achieve the mentioned target, the BSPCB signed an MoU with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) last year in February to develop climate-resilient strategies and projects to lower the carbon emissions in the state.
The meeting’s agenda was focused on the ‘Climate Resilient and Low Carbon Development Pathways’ and all the consultants involved in the formulation of the climate action policies and projects were also present in the review meeting.