WHAT IS THE ALTERNATIVE?

WHAT’S THE ALTERNATIVE?

While the use of conventional fuel has serious economic consequences in the form of budget deficits caused by oil imports, in Bangalore it is largely the ecological damage caused by automobile pollution that is driving the quest for an alternative fuel.

Alternative fuel vehicles and advanced technology vehicles have made rapid strides in developed countries which boast of clean cities. In Bangalore, however, the public consensus is on reshaping the ailing public transport, wiping out adulteration of petrol and reducing private transport rather than switching to a different fuel which may have its own ill effects.

Still, alternative energy for transport is a hotly debated topic with innovations at the institution level for models which rely on natural sources of energy. alternatives to gasoline include bio diesel, electric fuel, ethanol, hydrogen, methanol, natural gas (compressed natural gas/liquefied natural gas), propane (liquefied petroleum gas), p-series and solar fuel.

In Bangalore, there are stray examples of electric and solar fuelrun cars. but the government stand has by and large supported the centre’s decision of LPG for travel. Transport minister Sageer Ahmed says the amendment to the motor vehicles act which makes the use of LPG mandatory in four and three-wheelers is pending before the central food and civil supplies department and the petroleum department.

“The minute the final decision is conveyed to me, the change will be implemented.” As for other vehicles, like buses, he says, the Karnataka road transport corporation conducts emission tests once in three months and others can also make use of this service. “Pollution is a concern but we should not go the delhi way,” he adds, while commenting on the need for alternative fuels.

Based on the CNG experience in Delhi, transport commissioner Thimme Gowda conveys his personal opinion that LPG is the best alternative. “The government of India has laid down safety norms and conversion kits that ought to be made only by agencies that follow the approved norms.” In a country that has seen Ramar Pillai’s foul play and adulteration of fuel on a large scale, the public stand on alternative fuel is clear: any government stand for the introduction a new fuel must be backed by adequate research data.

Says Hariharan C, Managing Director, Biodiversity Conservation Limited, “We cannot depend on existing fuel like petroleum products, reserves of which cannot be exploited beyond 2015.” Going by an experience at BCIL’s eco village in kanakapura, he adds that hongae oil could be a feasible source, “As we are using the seeds of a tree and not the tree itself.” He rues the fact that a good alternative like CNG is being dismissed merely because of distribution problems. He says in the long run it is only a renewable natural resource that can solve the problem of petroleum shortage. “At a macro level, group commuting must be stressed on and resources should be redirected to an institution, where urban planners are backed by research bodies in their search for a good alternative.”

Leo F Saldanha, coordinator, environment support group, views the introduction of an alternative fuel as a social and economic issue. “Any mature society will not step into LPG till it is proved and known to be completely safe,” he warns. The brunt of a drastic change like a new fuel, he points out, should not be borne by the poor alone. “In Delhi, auto drivers have to wait for four hours for a fuel fill.”

Back home in Bangalore, he complains that private car owners who are equally responsible for polluting the air join the public in pointing fingers towards auto drivers. “A less corrupt government that has control over the quality of petrol served is the best alternative,” he concludes. Bangalore has also seen individual efforts that work at the exhaust system of vehicles, which is a key factor for emissions.

S Sudarshan Naik, for example, an engineer and project consultant, has invented a system to control automobile exhaust pollution, the patent for which is pending. This system consists of a gas cylinder in which the total exhaust gas from the engine is fully captured in a compressed state, throughout the journey of the vehicle. He says that several gas treatment plants at fuel filling stations can treat the exhaust gas using various chemical solvents. All this can happen within less than a minute, he says announcing a live demonstration soon.

Members of the Indian Autogas Association, based in Bangalore have been working towards a few changes in the amendment to the motor vehicle act which they say will turn into major loop holes in the future when LPG becomes a reality for four and three wheelers. And in Bangalore where spurious kits and lobbies backing the continuation of petrol as the sole fuel rule the roost, it’s anybody’s guess what foul play could do to a new fuel.