Date:07/08/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/08/07/stories/2008080757560100.htm

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Air quality monitoring system shut down

Deepa H Ramakrishnan

— Photo: M. Karunakaran

DISRUPTION TEMPORARY: The country’s first continuous (online) ambient air quality monitoring system in Chennai.

CHENNAI: The country’s first continuous (online) ambient air quality monitoring (CAAQM) system in Chennai has been shut down following a tussle between two international pollution device manufacturers.

Central Pollution Control Board Zonal Officer (South) B.P. Shukla, however, told The Hindu over telephone from Bangalore that the disruption of the two monitoring devices installed at the IIT-M and the Alandur bus depot, since last month, was only temporary and the operations would resume by the end of the month.

The disruption, he said, was because of a corporate takeover of the company that was given the operations and maintenance contract. “The instrument was imported from a French manufacturer, whose local representative was given the contract. Later, when the local company was taken over by a US company, the French manufacturer refused to continue service support,” he added.

Now the issue has been resolved with the French manufacturer starting operations in the country.