People getting fined on new year’s morning, jam-packed metro trains, men trying to disguise as women, and top government officers taking to motorbikes were some of the highlights, even before noon in India’s capital city of Delhi. Though there is a lot of chaos, it will be worth it if Delhi can check on a bit of pollution. With fluctuating pollution levels, Delhi regularly features as the most polluted city in the world.
Last month, the Delhi government announced that cars will be allowed to run on the road only on designated days according to the car number. Cars with numbers ending with 1, 3, 5, 7 or 9 will run on dates that end with any of these numbers, while those ending with 0, 2, 4, 6 and 8, will run on even days. Though the rule has been implemented for a fifteen-day trial run for the first fortnight of the year, there are some exceptions to the rule-two-wheelers, women drivers (in many cases), Sundays, ambulances, hybrid and electric vehicles, besides a few other exceptions. But the best part is that the rule, at least for now, is that before 8 am and after 8 pm (when the amount of rush is anyways low), you can ride any vehicle regardless of the number.
Delhi’s chief minister Mr. Arvind Kejriwal owns a car that ends with an odd number, so he will share it on odd days (days on which the date is an odd number) with a few other ministers. This included the new year day. It is yet to be seen who offers the CM a lift on even days.
A chilly winter morning in Delhi is always accompanied by a little bit of pollution.
To see how the citizens and government officials are reacting to this change, check out this live news feed by Firstpost.
