Nepal Environmental and Scientific Service (NESS) -- which had won a contract to repair all the non-functional equipment of the stations from the Ministry of Environment (MoE) -- has informed that the work for reviving the air pollution monitoring unit is already accomplished.[break]
"The work is over," an NESS executive told Republica, "We have already asked the ministry to check if our repair work is okay. Once the ministry approves our work, we will immediately hand over the stations." In a contract signed with the MoE, NESS had agreed to hand over the repaired stations to the ministry within three months. The three-month-term is going to expire on February 24.
Sushma Upadhyay, the focal person for controlling all kinds of pollution at the MoE, says, "The revival of air quality monitoring stations will hugely relieve us. We will be able to measure the level of pollution in air."
The air quality monitoring stations were established in Putalisadak, Thamel, Tribhuvan University (TU), Patan Hospital, Macchegaun and Bhaktapur by the MoE in 2002. The government of Denmark had provided a grant of Rs 60 million for installation of the stations.
Initially, the stations were operated as part of the Environment Sector Support Program (ESSP) launched by the Danish International Development Agency (Danida). After the Danida project term ended in 2005, the MoE struck a deal with the Environment and Public Health Organization (EPHO), an NGO, to operate the stations.
However, all the stations became dysfunctional since their equipment failed one after another in 2008. The system operators could not regularly charge batteries required to power the stations as the country faced a heavy power outage, which further rendered the country´s sole air monitoring unit non-functional.
The level of air pollution in the Kathmandu Valley is higher in winter season than other months. According to several studies conducted in the past, the concentration of PM 10 (particulate matters of 10 micrometers) that is hazardous to people´s health is also very high in the Valley´s air.
Related story
2 new air quality monitoring stations in Valley
