New Delhi announces special measures to fight air pollution

“The fact that today they are making these decisions is a reflection of the fact they have been pushed a lot by the concern that has exploded in the city”, said Ms Roychaudhary.

This move, regarding road space rationing, came after the Delhi High Court observed on December 3 that the proportions of air pollution levels were increasing considerably in the Delhi and the condition of people in Delhi was similar to that of living in a gas chamber. Aging trucks that enter the city at night are perhaps the biggest villain in smothering the Delhites. She drives because she feels safer in a vehicle unlike public transportation. The Delhi government also vowed to improve public transportation, shut down a coal-fired power station and start vacuuming roads to reduce dust. This rule will not apply to public vehicles.

The newly-appointed Chief Justice of India, Justice TS Thakur, has extended support for the?odd-even traffic formula? suggested by the Delhi Government to curb the menace of ever rising pollution in the national capital.

The federal government is planning to force all commercial trucks more than 15 years old off the road from April and is reviewing how it checks vehicle emissions.

“We must move toward reforms, but we have to be practical”, said Harsh Vardhan, a doctor who is India’s minister of science and technology.

If implemented, Delhi will become first such city in India to have such a scheme and the only one after Beijing in Asia.

The city’s smog is always bad in winter, but it has been unusually thick in recent days, exacerbated by fireworks set off for the festival of lights, Diwali, on November 11.

Other doubts that have been voiced include the consequences of arriving in Delhi in a vehicle with the wrong last digit for that day.

“A sort of panic was created that the pollution has increased so much that something drastic has to be done”, he said. The new restriction will not be applicable to CNG-based buses, taxis and auto-rickshaws. The permanent version of this rule, implemented thereafter, was adequately relaxed – this rule dictated that a vehicle with a registration number ending in a particular digit was banned from using the road for only one day of the week. It added that it will prepare public transport, including buses and the Metro, for the extra passengers. There are around 95 registered lakhs vehicles, contributing to the filthy air in the capital. Bogota eventually switched the odd-even number system to peak hours only, which has been more successful, Bhatt said. Delhi has the highest number of cars in the country. On Tuesdays, particulate pollution drops sharply, Bhatt said.