Delhi announces no-car day for world's most polluted city
Indian capital saw pollutants reach 35 times safe limits earlier this month, but critics fear voluntary scheme will be ineffective
Residents across India’s capital will be asked to leave their vehicles at home on January 22nd Photo: AFP/Getty Images
By Andrew Marszal, New Delhi
11:19AM GMT 23 Nov 2015
Delhi is to hold its first car-free day as the world’s most polluted city struggles to control the soaring levels of dangerous toxins clogging the air.
Residents across India’s capital will be asked to leave their vehicles at home on January 22 after the city’s chief minister announced the measure as part of a broader effort to bring down levels of particulate matter – harmful tiny particles of solid matter that can penetrate deep into the lungs.
Joggers exercise on a smoggy morning near the India Gate monument in New Delhi Photo: AFP/Getty Images
“I am asking everyone to take public transport to their office on January 22. I will also cycle to my office that day,” said Arvind Kejriwal.
A sprawling metropolis home to 25 million people, Delhi is frequently enveloped in a dense smog that severely reduces visibility and has been linked to chronic respiratory disease.
During the Diwali festival earlier this month, pollution levels in the capital soared to 35 times the normal safe limits in parts of the city, as smoke and chemicals released from celebratory fireworks added to the toxic clouds generated by traffic, construction sites and factories.
Last year the city added 1,400 cars to its roads every day, while public transport and infrastructure struggled to keep pace with the city’s growth.
A World Health Organisation report found that Delhi’s air quality was three times worse than Beijing, with 13 Indian cities among the 20 most polluted in the world.
There were immediate doubts about the effectiveness of the new strategy, which will be voluntary, after a localised car-free day in the western Delhi suburb of Dwarka on Sunday was largely ignored by residents.
The day got off to a promising start as Mr Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) led supporters in a cycle rally along a four-mile stretch.
But by the afternoon commuters were ignoring volunteers’ requests to stay off the designated car-free stretch.
Volunteers resorted to giving out roses to drivers in an attempt to boost participation, while a group that began forming human chains across the road were threatened with a lawsuit by one irate lawyer trying to get to work.
“There is no point in organising these car-free days in bits and pieces and on a voluntary basis,” said Sai Vasishta, a Dwarka resident. “Only if you make it compulsory and penalise the offenders will the message reach people”.
