Mangaluru: A vehicle to monitor emission levels was flagged off by District In-charge Minister Ramanath Rai at an event jointly organised by the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB), Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC), Regional Transport Department (RTO) and Mangaluru Refinery and Petrochemical Limited (MRPL) on January 6.

Addressing the gathering, Minister Rai blamed the old vehicles for increase in pollution levels and lauded the efforts of the transport department in regulating emission levels.

Rai appreciated the new method of monitoring vehicular emission to control air pollution in the city.

Students from National Service Scheme (NSS) from different schools took out a rally in the beginning to create awareness on the ill effects of environmental pollution.

Mangalore North MLA B A Moideen Bava, MRPL Managing Director H Kumar, MCC Commissioner M Nazeer and Environment Officer Rajashekar Puranik were present on the occasion.