Delhi government says private vehicles would not be allowed on the roads if pollution worsens
The national capital of India, Delhi, sees the worst pollution during October-November month when the onset of the winter happens. The pollution level in the national capital has already reached an alarming level and an official has said that the private vehicles in the city would be banned if the pollution level does not come down.
The ban would affect only the private vehicles but the public transports like the busses and cabs would be operating normally. Bhure Lal, Chairman, Environment Pollution Control Authority has said that that private vehicle will be banned from the public roads if the pollution situations worsen.
Delhi saw an overnight spike in the pollution level when the Particulate Matter (PM) level rose and the Air Quality Index fell down to 401. It is a severe category and is the highest in this season. The alarming level of pollution is caused by many reasons. The burning of crops in the Punjab and Haryana region are one of the major sources of pollution in the area.
The Delhi government has taken drastic steps in the past including imposing the odd-even rule where the only odd vehicles were allowed on the odd days and even numbers on the even days. As of now, the Supreme Court of India has stepped in and has asked the Delhi police to impose the old car rule strictly.
The 2014 ruling that bans 10-year-old diesel vehicles and 15-year-old petrol vehicles from plying on the public roads has been put into immediate effect and the cops have already started impounding old vehicles. Along with the pollution, the weather condition makes it worse for the city.
According to the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), the weather conditions are not favourable enough to disperse the pollutants from the atmosphere for next days. The adjoining cities have worse pollution situation. In Ghaziabad, the AQI is at 444 points, in Gurugram the AQI has reached 422 points. The Noida is still at 410 points but it is still counted as severe.