Nuisance or necessity? Mixed reactions on vehicle restriction

Delhi Government's decision to restrict plying of private vehicles to check pollution has invited mixed reactions from the public with some terming it "impractical" and others advocating it to encourage use of public transport.
Under fire over rising pollution in Delhi and the lack of a concrete plan to tackle it, the AAP government today decided that private vehicles with odd and even registration numbers will be allowed on the roads of the national capital only on alternate days starting next month.
It was announced following an emergency meeting called by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, a day after the Delhi High Court said living in Delhi was like "living in a gas chamber".

"It will be a big relief to have reduced level of pollution as well as traffic congestion on roads but I am not sure how practical will be the implementation of the rule. What will the motorists do on the alternate days?," said Anant Rastogi, an MBA student.
Stuti Singh, a marketing professional said, "This will just prove to be a nuisance decision when you have to get into the calculations of what day of week it is to consider stepping out with his or her own vehicle".
Criticising the decision, Amlaan Kumar said, "How impractical it is that the government asks you to leave your car home every second day as Delhi fights crippling pollution. I hope they have worked out the modalities to know what mess it might result into".

"The move will definitely make people resort to using public transport. Unless, a ruling like this is implemented there will be less takers for metro and public buses," said Shruti Nagpal, a DU professor.

Kritika Mehta, who works with a publishing company and travels daily from Gurgaon to Delhi, said, "It is not just about pollution but also about the traffic problems. It is feasible to use public transport and if there is an urgency one can always take a cab, there will be no restrictions on that".
"There should be no hue and cry over this. If the model can work abroad, it can work here too. I just hope it is strictly implemented and government works on improving the efficiency of public transport too," said Mrinal Jha.

The city government also announced a series of radical measures today to rein in "critical" levels of air pollution in the national capital.
Some of them include shutting down of the Badarpur Thermal power station, moving the National Green Tribunal to close the Dadri power plant which falls in Uttar Pradesh and making it mandatory for vehicles to have Euro VI standards for vehicular emission from 2017, two years before the Centre's scheduled introduction of the same.
The government announced that it will carry out a massive plantation drive along all arterial roads across the city to curb spread of dust and ensure vacuum cleaning of roads by the Public Works Department from April 1.

There is also a proposal to allow movement of trucks only after 11 PM as they slow down overall vehicular movement which was pointed out to be a major contributing factor in vehicular emission.