The 'odd' man out! Kejriwal suggests pooling cars to even out pollution

New Delhi, Dec 10: Chief Minister of New Delhi made another 'odd' move after his 'odd-even' experiment for cleaner air. He has advised ministers in his Cabinet to pool their cars from January 1 when the the former directive is enforced. Kejriwal said that car-pooling is practical in many ways as it not just saves fuel, but also helps in easy transportation as buses may not be handy always.

On a lighter note, he asked the audience to raise hands if they were willing to do the same. "I will follow this, so will all my ministers and officers.... I will car-pool with the ministers who stay near my home," he said.

He further added,"Those who have not raised their hands till now, didn't (do so) out of shame. But I'm sure they'll also follow."

While the odd-even formula has been taken with apprehension in many sections of the society that site women's safety and unavailability of ample public transport to support this, judiciary, civil society and politicians have supported the same whole-heartedly.

Addressing the problems of emissions caused by trucks, Kejriwal said,"We will check trucks, especially the overloaded ones... They pollute more." He further added, "There will be vaccum cleaning of roads. Also, all pavements will have greenery, the horticulture department has been told that we should have plants everywhere, so there is less dust".

[Read: Centre, Delhi Police to support odd-even scheme: Kejriwal]

The odd-even plan is yet to be put in place where odd numbered cars will be allowed on the roads on odd days, say Jan 1, 3, 5 and the even numbered cars on even days. Single-women drivers and cars with patients may be exempted.

OneIndia News