Diesel-run vehicles account for more than 80 per cent of the air pollution in Dhaka city roads as most of them fail to comply with the approved emission standard, said transport experts and environmentalists.

About 60 per cent of the city dwellers consider motor vehicles as the main source of air pollution, about 55 per cent consider diesel-run buses to be most polluting the air and 22 per cent feel that diesel-run trucks cause the air pollution, they added.

About 60 per cent city dwellers contract diseases because of air pollution. About 88 per cent believed that smoke and dust are the most important air pollutants – revealed by a survey report conducted by Air Quality Management Project (AQMP) of the Department of Environment and the World Bank. The public and stakeholders’ participation of air pollution was revealed in the survey.

Mohammad Nasiruddin, Director of Air Quality Management, said, "In 2004, the AQMP conducted a study titled ‘Roadside Vehicle Emission Testing Programme in Dhaka’ where they surveyed 2,140 vehicles of all types to identify the principal contributors to air pollution."

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