#Smog #AirPollution #Delhi
A
Smoke-Screen around Smog ?
Once again , Delhi is enveloped in smog (
- as it happens , year after year )
As usual , politicians are blaming each other for “ failing to act “ ,
when they were in power
In the meantime , experts are saying : Smog is caused
by ,
·
Vehicular emission
·
Construction dust
·
Burning of agri-residue in
Punjab
·
Coal-based Power Plant
·
Kilns
·
Factories belching chemical fumes….etc
They are also telling us : Life of a Delhi-ite gets
reduced by 6 years on average , due to air pollution !
They are also repeating their old suggestions :
·
Stop construction / close down
factories
·
Ban petrol / diesel cars and switch over to Electric
Vehicles
·
Introduce ODD / EVEN rules
for vehicles
·
Sprinkle road with water
·
Introduce much more public transport ( Buses / Metro )…etc
Here is what other countries are doing :
·
Singapore has stopped purchase of private vehicles from 1st
Feb 2018 .
For many years now , Singapore charges private car owners , $ 3700 per
year as “ Certificate of Entitlement “ ( valid for 10 years only ) and does not allow private cars to ply inside
the “ Core City “ during peak hours
In Singapore , a Toyota Corolla ( 5 door sedan )
costs S$ 111,000 , which is about 4 TIMES what it costs in USA !
·
Since 2003 , London has levied a “ Congestion Charge “ of Sterling
11.50 per day.
Two weeks back , it has started charging an additional amount of
Sterling 10 per day to drive in the city centre ( - a total of 21.50 pounds /
day ).
This charge will apply primarily to cars manufactured before 2005
According to London Mayor , Sadiq Khan , more than
9000 Londoners die prematurely each year due to poor quality air
He goes on to add :
# Drivers
make 6 million trips to London each day with a THIRD of them driving
LESS THAN
2 Km
# 40 % of air pollution in
the city comes from diesel vehicles
·
Madrid , Paris and Athens
have announced plans focussed on cutting diesel emissions including bans ,
fines and restrictions
·
Beijing ( China ) regularly closes down polluting factories / construction
·
In Switzerland , you cannot
buy a private car unless you prove that you have a place to park it , both at
your home and at your office ( not on the road )
There is no dearth of examples from around the world that we can
study – and emulate , if found suitable
So, what is holding us
back ? Feel free to draw your own conclusion from following blog :
WhenLawmakers Abdicate [ 10 May 2016 ]
https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2016/05/when-lawmakers-abdicate.html
=======================================================
Extract :
Is air pollution only affecting the people of Delhi ?
Is it not as bad in cities like
Mumbai / Kolkata / Chennai / Bangalore etc ?
Why are MLAs of these States not
enacting laws to control pollution ?
Why is Supreme Court passing orders (
diesel vehicles / taxies ) only for Delhi ?
Does Supreme Court think that citizens of these other cities are immune
to the ill effects of pollution caused by diesel vehicles ?
Why are State Legislatures happy to " pass the buck " to
Supreme Court ?
That is
" Abdication of
Responsibility " !
{ PS :
Why blame the Courts for “ Judicial Activism “ ? }
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