NEW DELHI - Authorities in India's capital
New Delhi banished from the roads cars with number plates ending
in an odd number on Monday in a bid to cut hazardous air
pollution shrouding the city.
With toxic smog blanketing the streets, the U.S. Embassy air
quality index, which measures the concentration of tiny PM 2.5
particles that can be carried deep into the lungs, exceeded 500
during the day, far above the recommended "safe" limit of 60.
Such a pollution reading indicates serious aggravation of
heart and lung disease, and premature mortality in people with
existing diseases and the elderly. It also means a serious risk
of effects on the respiratory systems of the general population.
The city government has declared a public health emergency,
and imposed an "odd-even" system restricting private vehicles to
driving on alternate days, at least until Nov. 15.
On Monday, drivers with even-numbered licence plates were
the lucky ones. Morning traffic was thin and drivers appeared to
be obeying the rule - a Reuters reporter saw no vehicles with
odd-numbered licence plates on the streets.
"It' a huge inconvenience because I'm not going to make it
on time for my meetings," said Sagar Bajaj, 29, struggling to
find a taxi in central Delhi's busy Connaught Place.
Bajaj said he normally drives to work, but his car's licence
plate ends in and odd number.
Ride-hailing services were exempt from the rule and both
Uber and Ola had announced they would not impose surge pricing
for the duration of the odd-even scheme.
In Delhi, Vijay Goel, a lawmaker from Prime Minister
Narendra Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), decided to
defy the "odd-even" system by driving his car which had a number
plate ending in an odd number.
Expressing his differences with the city government, which
has decided to ration road use to bring down the number of
vehicles, Goel said cars contribute only 3% of Delhi's
pollution.
POLLUTION POLITICS
Neither the BJP, the governing party at federal level, nor
the main opposition Congress party are in power in the capital,
giving them little incentive to cooperate with the city
government run by the Aam Aadmi (Common Man) Party (AAP).
Goel's decision to violate the ban is the latest example of
fractious politicking over pollution.
Leaders from the BJP, the Congress party and the AAP have
repeatedly exchanged barbs and traded blame over a sharp
deterioration in air quality.
Vehicular exhausts, along with emissions from industry,
contribute more than 50% of Delhi's air pollution on most days
through the year, according to official estimates.
The city also ordered schools shut on Monday and all
construction work to stop.
A government monitor on Sunday showed air quality had hit
the worst level for the year, at 494 on a scale of 500. The
level was well above 400 early on Monday.
According to independent online air quality index monitor
AirVisual, New Delhi was the most polluted major city in the
world on Monday, at twice the level of Lahore in Pakistan, which
was a distant second.
Pulling up authorities for their failure to curb air
pollution, India's Supreme Court on Monday asked the state
government of Delhi, its neighbouring states and the federal
government to work together to help improve air quality.
Supreme Court Justice Arun Mishra asked authorities to
ensure an immediate end to crop residue burning in Delhi's
surrounding states.
Every year, at this time, farmers in Punjab and Haryana
states, ruled by the Congress party and the BJP respectively,
start burning off the rice paddy straw and stubble in
preparation for the sowing season.
The smoke from fields combines with urban pollution from
vehicles and industry to make Delhi the world's most-polluted
capital.
Late Monday evening, the Prime Minister's Office said it had
reviewed Delhi's pollution issues and sought details of steps
taken to check farm fires in neighbouring states.
P.K. Mishra, principal secretary to the prime minister, said
there was a need to set up a mechanism for immediate action to
crack down on pollution, without giving further details on
plans.
Separately, authorities in India's Uttar Pradesh state
decided to use air purifiers to protect the Taj Mahal.
"We are also keeping a strict vigil to ensure that people
do not set fire to waste or do anything which causes pollution
near the Taj," Bhuvan Yadav, of the state pollution board, told
Reuters over phone from the city of Agra, home to the Taj Mahal.