The unsuspecting citizen’s of Calcutta……….be scared, be very very scared.
Most autorickshaws in Calcutta are running on a fuel that contains at least 50 per cent kerosene or kerosene and naphtha, and causes three times more pollution than petrol, the first known tests of the adulterated oil done on behalf of The Telegraph show.
One sample of the fuel, popularly known as katatel, bought from a roadside shop near Ajanta cinema at Behala and tested by the West Bengal Pollution Control Board, consisted of two-thirds kerosene and a third petrol.
The other, bought from Jadavpur and tested by Jadavpur University’s automotive engineering department, contains 25 per cent of kerosene and naphtha each, 45 per cent petrol and 5 per cent impurities.
These two are the first known analyses, done by recognised laboratories, of the adulterated oil autorickshaws use in Calcutta and elsewhere in Bengal.
The results largely explain why at least 10,000 people die in the city every year because of pollution, mainly caused by vehicles — and why Calcutta tops the list of lung cancer victims among Indian cities.
Tags: Calcutta, Kolkata, pollution, lung cancer, News
