Odd-even ends, Kejriwal calls it a success

NEW DELHI : The fortnight-long odd-even campaign to curb traffic in Delhi to battle air pollution ended on Friday night, with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal saying it succeeded in more ways than one.And just hours before the unique January 1-15 scheme ended amid conflicting claims, Kejriwal urged Delhiites to continue it voluntarily “if you can”.
Under the scheme, four-wheelers with odd and even registration numbers plied in Delhi – a city where cars account for nearly a third of its about 90 lakh registered vehicles – on alternate dates.Despite claims from experts to the contrary, Kejriwal said pollution levels did drop during this period. More importantly, the city’s otherwise perennially clogged roads became easier to navigate.”We received overwhelming support for the odd-even plan,” the Aam Aadmi Party leader told the media. “It was personally overwhelming.””People started saying that they had begun to car pool and were spending far less time on the roads. It looked as if Delhi’s roads had been cleared of traffic congestion.”Many took to commuting by Delhi Metro and found they could save money too, he said.Air pollution declined by 20-25 percent in the capital during the January 1-15 period, Delhi Transport Minister Gopal Rai said.He said air samples collected by around 20 mobile teams of the Delhi Pollution Control Committee from different locations showed that pollution levels in inner Delhi areas had gone down.”In inner Delhi, the average PM 2.5 level was around 300 micrograms/m3. However, it remained around 400 micrograms/m3 in border areas,” he added.