THE ODDS AGAINST GETTING EVEN WITH POLLUTION LEVELS IN DELHI

Vanita Srinivas

In a recent survey conducted by Greenpeace, Delhi has been rated as one of the most toxic city in the world.  The report explains that a particulate matter termed as PM 2.5, which has a diameter less than 2.5 micrometers, has been discovered in high concentration in air. Thus the air that envelops Delhi is in abundance with this deadly component. PM 2.5 is a miniscule particle in the air that reduces visibility, causes the air to appear hazy and affects respiratory tracts. To combat this pernicious silent killer, Delhi Government proposed several initiatives viz. ban on burning waste and crop residue, purchase of diesel vehicles and the odd even rule for cars. As per the statistics available on internet this rule will succeed in putting off 20 lakhs cars per day from roads. Keeping as many as 20 lakhs cars will certainly help road space rationing and reclaiming the clean air by reducing pollution levels. But, the big question is how are the owners of these 20 lakhs vehicles going to manage commuting to their destination.

Metro is one of the alternates, but metro is already overcrowded and even an iota of an additional burden will create chaos. In absence of any other reliable alternate public transport system, people will definitely turn towards auto rickshaws. Any such option will definitely defeat the purpose of implementing odd even rule.

Greater Noida is not very conveniently connected to mass transport system. We, the residents of Greater Noida are dependent, firstly on shared auto, then on the road transport, to reach the nearest metro station. The actual journey to the work place begins at this junction, which is almost 30 KMs from our respective residence. It’s impractical to expect a person to change as many modes mentioned and then walk to his work place from the metro station. The plight of persons travelling from Greater Noida to Gurgaon or vice versa is furthermore, incomprehensible. A tiring journey everyday saps energy required to do the job diligently.

The Government in its zeal to reclaim clean air has adopted a policy that has already been tried in lot of other countries. Most of them have failed to bring results. The copy paste culture has murdered the ability to think and act independently. The problems, in general, are similar everywhere but solutions are always different and unique. It would be foolish to lift a working model from elsewhere and try to implement it in a different environment. The administration in its fervor to solve one problem is creating lot of others.

One greatest reason why people confront and oppose a new initiative is because they have not been psychologically conditioned for the change. It’s natural to be reluctant to changes that compel us to leave our comfort zone. Further the initiatives announced exempt politicians and ladies from the odd even rule. Such exemptions send wrong signals in the public.  This indicates that Government is being skeptic and taciturnly cluing that the initiative may be non workable.

Nobody wants to live in a city which has turned into a gas chamber. A little education regarding the latest findings about pollution levels and its impact on present and future generation would have eased, the element, causing trouble in achieving a positive result. Each one of us hopes to look upto a cerulean azure skyline. We all wish to look into a clear reflection in clean water. The Government should come out with a workable and executable solution.