Financial Times

DPMC wards off air pollution charges with ISO award

David Pieris Motor Company (DPMC), whose imported Bajaj auto-rickshaws with two-stroke engines have been criticized for worsening air pollution, has received an ISO environmental award for efforts to minimize exhaust gas emissions.

It was given the ISO 14001 Environmental Management System certificate by the Sri Lanka Standards Institute (SLSI)

which represents Sri Lanka at the International Standards Organisation.
"We are the first automobile company to receive this award," said Neil Perera, Executive Director of DPMC. "We have shown commitment to maintaining environmental standards."
DPMC has come in for heavy criticis

m from the public and environmentalists for its Bajaj three-wheeler taxis whose two-stroke engines cause more air pollution than other engine types. Bajaj auto-rickshaws have been banned in some South Asian cities battling with heavy air pollution problems.

The ISO 14001 is a standard for how a company should address environmental pollution issues in order to improve the environment.

B. Mendis, Director General of the SLSI said that DPMC is committed to reducing the adverse effects of Bajaj three-wheeler engine emissions.

Perera of DPMC said the company started with 190 employees and has now grown to 823 employees.It has also diversified its core competencies and formed David Pieris Information Technologies and DPMC Financial Services.

DPMC has refuted allegations that its imported Bajaj three wheelers increase air pollution. Perera said the company has taken several steps to ensure that its Bajaj three-wheelers conform to international emission standards.

The three-wheelers imported from Bajaj Auto, India conform to both European Union and Indian emission standards.

Emission testing and quality assurance programmes are carried at pre-delivery inspection while customers are educated on the proper maintenance and operation of their vehicles not only for personal safety and that of their fellow passengers but also for the general well being of the public.

Moreover, emission testing is carried out through island-wide service campaigns where corrective action is promptly taken should any lapse be detected, Perera said.

DPMC has also introduced vehicles with catalytic converters and alternative-fuel models such as those that operate on LPG, which effectively reduce emission levels.

The company has an environmental policy in place which states that they will abide by the relevant environmental legislation and regulations and comply with their provisions by controlling the exhaust gas emissions of two wheelers and three-wheelers to be within stipulated standards, minimizing dust emissions from painting activities and also adhering to advanced systems and practices of disposal in respect of rain water and solid waste.
The SLSI's Mendis said the company is the 11th in Sri Lanka to obtai

n this certificate.
(PJ)

TRI computer programme to estimate fertilizer needs

The Tea Research Institute has developed a computer programme to estimate the fertilizer needs in tea estates.

The programme, written in Visual Basic language, helps planters identify nutrient deficiencies and calculate the fertilizer requirements, the TRI said in a statement.

The programme, available in compact discs for sale at the TRI at a nominal fee, can be used by both large and small-scale tea growers. It will eliminate the need for manual calculations which are tedious and more time consuming.
The programme was developed by the TRI scientists Dr Kapila Zoysa, G. P. Gunaratne, Udeni Alagiyawadu along with TRU director Dr Ziyad Mohamed.
Fertilization of tea fields with synthetic fertilizers is one of the most important activities in tea cultivation which accounts for 10-12 percent of the total cost of production.

The application of fertilizer is well known to improve tea yields and maintain the sustainability of plants. "It is extremely important that fertilizer needs to be added in the right quantities at the right time to reap the benefits from the applied fertilizer," the TRI said.

From time to time, the TRI has been issuing guidelines on the estimation and application of fertilizer in tea fields.

These guidelines are issued especially when the TRI recommends new fertilizer mixtures. The estimation of fertilizer requirements for individual tea fields has usually been done manually by the estate managers on a yearly basis.

The TRI computer programme provides the facility of giving general descriptions on nutrient deficiency symptoms with colour plates to help tea growers to compare abnormalities they observe in tea fields. "The grower can compare their field observations with colour plates identifying the particular nutrient deficiency and employ corrective measures."

The facility also allows planters to work out the fertilizer requirements for individual fields as well as for the whole estate or for a number of estates.

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