Air pollution is the biggest concern right now for metro cities. With a heavily increased number of vehicles on the road, air pollution is increasing at an alarming rate. The capital city of our country- Delhi is now among the most polluted capitals of the world! Basically, we are living in or near a city that has increased levels of pollution and can certainly affect us in the worst possible ways. We, as citizens of this country, ought to reduce the pollution if we want our future generations to live well. On a personal level, we can do wonders if we want to, but people in a country like India have become ignorant about the deteriorating condition. The government tried various schemes in the past months but any of them couldn’t be successful on a long term basis. Paris car pollution ban is something we can definitely earn from.
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Paris bans Upto 60% of its cars as heatwave worsens pollution
A similar proposal has come up in Paris where the city traffic department has come up with an idea of restricting the use of motor vehicles on the roads, therefore keeping a check on the air pollution levels of the city. Paris car pollution ban has been implied to bring down a sudden heat wave that hit across various regions of France.
- The traffic police department, France tested the proposal on 26th June where they allowed only electric vehicles and vehicles with stickers 1 & 2 on the road.
- The clean air stickers, also called Crit’Air Vignettes, have six colours that identify the emissions the vehicle produces according to the European emissions standard. The other vehicles which consist of older and diesel vehicles were not allowed on the roads.
- The France police department has also reduced the speed limits on every road. The maximum speeds have been reduced by almost 20km/hr in order to reduce the emission levels.
- Trucks and other heavy vehicles weighing more than 3.5 tonnes were strictly told to bypass the city center and the nearby surroundings.
This test proposal has yielded considerable results in the French cities and the French government is planning to practice it on a long term basis by figuring out certain changes that need to be made.
Can Delhi follow the footsteps?
Back in 2017, Delhi also faced a similar situation where the pollution levels rose above normal. The Delhi government then proposed the odd-even plan but couldn’t run it for long!
Considering the sorry number of electric vehicles currently running on the Indian roads we cannot expect a Paris-like proposal for the Indian roads. Also, the majority of people depend on public transports for work commuting which is also not electrical presently. Therefore, we cannot ban the buses which currently ply on Delhi’s roads.
A thing we can suggest is that workplaces can allow their employees to work from home for a week. This will help to reduce the traffic congestion on the roads, reduce temperatures and overall pollution contribution of India.
Our thoughts on Paris’s car ban
Paris did a great move by restricting certain things related to traffic. The main motive behind the Paris car pollution ban was to control the levels of pollutants being released in the air. All the other sources along with traffic were kept a check on. To make all such schemes a success, the participation of the people of the country is really important.
In India’s case, back in 2017, it was seen that people started buying cars with odd or even numbers according to their requirements. People just began to find a way out to remain unaffected from the scheme. We should realize that these kinds of schemes are launched for benefiting a planet that we all share. Until and unless we start caring for our planet on a personal basis, no government scheme can help us. We have to put this issue on top priority in our “think lists” and start acting towards it immediately.
Carpool is a way we can suggest considering the present road scenario. The government is continuously working towards developing the infrastructure for EVs. Till then we should support them in the best possible way we can because it’s our planet and we are grown up enough to care for it without requiring any government schemes!
