May the most energy efficient win

The car mileage rally to cover 65km distance between Mantralaya and Juhu

When it comes to car races, this time speed is not the criterion for winning. It is driving efficiently and conserving energy that is the mantra for the ‘car mileage rally’ to be organised on December 2.

An initiative of Petroleum Conservation Research Association (PCRA) and Western India Automobile Association (WIAA), the rally will cover a distance  of 65 km from the Mantralaya to Juhu.

“One must realise that every litre of oil consumed generates over 2.5 litre of carbon dioxide. It has been found that in eight years the situation will be grim,” said Ravi Capoor, executive director of PCRA. It is important to make people aware of the dangerous consequences of emissions from burning fossil fuels, like climate change, Capoor added.

The rally is open for petrol cars up to 1,100cc, cars above 1,300cc to 1,600cc and cars above 1,601cc. “Entries are open on first-come-first-serve basis for the first 100 cars. The entries for the rally were accepted till November 28 at the WIAA, Indian Merchants Chamber, Churchgate,” said Nitin Dossa, executive chairman of WIAA.

Capoor pointed out that till 2020, the energy demand is expected to rise by 2.2 per cent. However, if concerted efforts are taken towards using energy efficiently, the demand will rise by less than one per cent, which means a reduction of almost 60 per cent in the growth in demand.

“It’s not only this rally but in January we have planned energy conservation programmes at for industrial, domestic and agricultural consumers,” he added.