Delhi: December 30 dry run for odd even rule

The capital's emergency experiment on the odd even car formula has caught the nation's fancy. To be implemented between January 1 and 15 next year, the odd even car formula is the first-of-its-kind in the country, radical step recently announced by the Arvind Kejriwal government to curb alarming air pollution levels in Delhi.

However, with several vehicles of VIPs, two-wheelers and other emergency vehicles exempted from the scheme, it is to be seen if the air quality in Delhi's locations sees a drastic improvement, especially at the most polluted localities of Delhi.

On Monday, the industrial area of Anand Vihar showed up as the most polluted area of Delhi with an AQI of 405 with PM 10.

It was followed by Punjabi Bagh with an AQI of 346 with Pm 2.5 and RK Puram having an AQI of 333. The Mandir Marg area had an AQI of 316 with PM2.5.

Along with aggressive publicity campaigns, the AAP government is all prepared to get on with the experiment, and will organising a fine-free dry run of the experiment on December 30. From the first day of the new year, an additional 3,000 buses, higher frequency of Metro services, a mobile app, has been promised by the Delhi government to ease commuter woes.

"We will deploy 3,000 additional buses that will serve 15-16 lakh people," said Delhi transport minister Gopal Rai on Monday."There will be special bus services for those who are going from Gurgaon and Noida to Delhi. Metro frequency was 2,000 plus trips, now it's going to be 3,000 plus trips, an increase of 33 percent."

Rai also launched a CNG sticker with hologram features. The sticker will be available at CNG stations starting Tuesday from 6 am. Those caught misusing the sticker will be fined and prosecuted.

The Delhi government has also tied up with Twitter in order to make it easier for commuters to find the shortest route to their destination.

About 10,000 extra autos will ply on the city's roads and 10,000 volunteers will be working with the city traffic police to man the roads, even as the Delhj police has shown its reservations. Most Indian states grappling with the problem of poor air quality, Delhi's odd even experiment can motivate other states to take a cue from Delhi.

However, transport minister from Maharashtra Diwakar Raote told dna, that Mumbai has an excellent rail connectivity and most public vehicles on the city's roads run on CNG. "Everything is running well here. We will never need to do a Delhi-like experiment here," Raote said.