Despite pollution, car-free days a distant reality in city

Rachna Khaira

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, December 5

The Delhi government may have taken a big leap by announcing car-free days for vehicles having even and odd registration numbers, but such a plan seems to be a distant dream as far as Jalandhar is concerned.

District Transport Officer (DTO) RP Singh lauded the move but was quick to point out that it is not possible to implement it in Jalandhar as residents of the city are not accustomed to various traffic management systems prevalent in other countries to ease congestion on roads.

“Most households in the city have more than two cars. There is a possibility that many of them have vehicles with both even and odd registration numbers. Instead of implementing such plans, the residents should be motivated to follow various traffic management systems like car pooling, using cycle for near distance travel and also more use of public transport,” said Singh, and added that besides saving money on fuel, the move will also ease traffic congestion and bring down pollution level in the city.

“It is important to follow plans that strengthen and support the Swachh Bharat mission,” the DTO said.

Municipal Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Khehra said the project, if implemented in city, would not bring about much result due to the absence of a concrete public transport system. He said the Municipal Corporation is in the process of providing a reliable and comfortable public transport system to the residents. Also, the state and national highways pass through the city and it needs to have a streamlined inflow of commercial and inter-state vehicles.

“We have proposed to strengthen the public transport system under the smart city mission. I am hopeful that once it is implemented, people will refrain from using private vehicles on a daily basis,” said Khehra.

Successful in Beijing: The Beijing Traffic Management Bureau first implemented the even-odd project in 2008 ahead of the Beijing Olympics. Though the plan was implemented on an experimental basis, the government made it regular after it successfully ran for two months. The plan not only brought down the air pollution level by 40 per cent, it also helped ease traffic congestion in Beijing.

France rolled back the decision within 24 hours: Though still running successfully in Beijing, the plan was a big failure right on the day it was implemented in Paris on March 17, 2014. The local government in Paris took the decision as the air was filled with smog for the whole week.

The presence of thousands of policemen on roads to penalise vehicles that violated the order led to heavy traffic congestion in the city that even paralysed traffic movement in nearby areas as well. Finding no respite, the Paris government withdrew the order within 24 hours.

Residentspeak: Should we have car-free days? 

It is a nice concept and the city residents must support it. To begin with, educational institutes including schools and coaching centres can make it mandatory for students not to use motorised vehicles for two days a week. This, besides reducing pollution level, will also improve fitness among the children. Also, the government officials, local shopkeepers and doctors can join the campaign by going to their place of work on bicycle once a week — Brig (retd) AS Minhas

The concept will  not bear results until the district administration improves traffic management system in the city.  The zebra crossings are all made beyond the central verge on the roads and most traffic lights should be made functional throughout the year. — Rajvir Kaur Gill

The district administration may not make it mandatory to issue an advisory to adopt car-free day once a week. It can rope in NGOs and schools to create awareness about the benefits of having a car-free day in the city. Rather than making the day a burden, it can be celebrated with road shows and colourful banners to promote a pollution-free day. — Varun Dada 

Swachch Bharat mission and smart city mission will not become a complete success until and unless we have an eco-friendly approach in our lifestyle. The plan should be implemented without any delay. Whatever technical glitches come in the way can be dealt with while implementing it. Beautiful landscape can be developed next to the main roads for the people to take a walk down the city and some areas may also be identified for ‘cycles only. — Ritu Kolentine