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'Red light on, gaadi off'
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal
CM Kejriwal launches new initiative to tackle pollution
New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday launched a new anti-pollution initiative under which people will be encouraged to switch engines of their vehicles off while waiting at traffic signals.
Kejriwal said: "We will start a new campaign today. It has been seen that we often do not switch off engines of our vehicles while waiting at traffic signals. The 'Red Light On Gaadi Off' campaign will aim to bring a behavioural change in that regard. It will help reduce air pollution."
"We cannot do anything about the pollution from the smoke of stubble burning. Still, Delhi is trying to combat pollution. For this, we have launched this initiative," said the Chief Minister at a video press briefing.
Around 10 million vehicles are registered in Delhi. Experts say that even if 1 million vehicles shut down their vehicles at the traffic lights, it will reduce PM10 pollution by 1.5 lakh tonnes. Even PM2.5 pollution will also come down by 0.4 tonnes. According to experts, every driver in Delhi needs to stop at red lights for about 15 to 20 minutes every day. In winter, the smoke emanating from the car during the idling period on a traffic light pushes up pollution enormously.
If the driver switches off the engine at every traffic light, he can save 200 ml of fuel every day. This will result in an annual savings of Rs 7,000.
Vehicular pollution at traffic junctions is particularly high in the winter. In summer the smoke or polluted air goes higher, but in winter the smoke does not rise much. Similarly, dust and smoke are only slightly above the ground and the polluted air proves to be dangerous for everybody, explained the CM.
Kejriwal says the people of Delhi have together worked to slash pollution levels by 25 per cent over the last five years. "I hope all of you will be wholeheartedly involved in this campaign and I request everyone -- including the bus driver, the car driver, the taxi driver, the vehicle owner along with the scooter and the motorcycle driver -- to join the campaign."
