The murky, dim and depressing smog is a daily reality of much of North India; with the Delhi smog coming in for the most attention. Now with the air quality reaching alarmingly unhealthy levels, the administration has had to take tough steps: closure of schools, the temporary halt of construction activity and yes, the return of #OddEven!
#OddEvenDobara – this is the third time that the scheme is being implemented in Delhi
Cars with number-plates ending in even numerals will be permitted to ply on even dates and vice versa. There are several exceptions, such as on Sundays, for women, two wheelers etc. as this ready reckoner shows.
People with two cars heave a sigh of relief if they have number plates with odd and even numerals. Other options are to travel by two-wheelers or take public transport.
There were some who tweeted with the #LetsUniteAgainstPollution hashtag to show their support for the scheme.
There is a significant amount of public support for the scheme, with citizens – including school kids – coming out to support the implementation of their own accord.
The idea is not just to take some vehicles off the road for a limited period. The idea behind odd-even is also to encourage people to reduce reliance on their own cars and ultimately to bring about behavioural change.
There are those who feel that the odd-even scheme is no solution to Delhi’s woes. They feel that the scheme actually adds to the woes of the already troubled Delhiites.
There are those who feel that this is silly band-aid solution that has no positive impact.
They feel that since vehicular pollution contributes very little to pollution, there is no point in targeting this contributor to poor air quality.
Those who were out on the roads today, felt that there was a visible reduction in traffic congestion and improvement in visibility.
Close to evening on the first day of #OddEven implementation, many of the tweeple were reporting a marked improvement in air quality in the capital city. Was it just coincidence or a combination of the odd-even scheme and strong winds of the day?
This is the truth – we pass the buck, blame others and find excuses for not making required changes at the personal level. If we all resolve to do whatever possible at our own personal level – even it means some inconvenience and change in the way we've always done things – this can actually start to make a positive difference to us all.
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