Manipur plans to ban vehicles older than 15 years to curb pollution

Imphal, Sep 12 (IANS) Manipur may ban auto-rickshaws and other vehicles which are 15 years old or more.

L. Radhakishore, Chairman of the Manipur Pollution Control Board, said on Wednesday that health hazards posed by the polluted air would be discussed in the next cabinet meeting.

"There is an immediate need to ban such vehicles on grounds of health hazard," he added.

According to Radhakishore, more than 70 percent of the diesel-run auto-rickshaws were unfit to operate. "These vehicles need to be disposed of as scraps."

He said there was a need to control noise pollution in major towns including Imphal.

Officials say that for some decades Manipur has been the dumping ground for used cars and other vehicles which cannot be used in any city, including Delhi.

There is a sudden increase in the number of vehicles in Manipur as a used car is available as cheap as Rs 100,000.