Gobar Times (Special Auto Expo issue) -- Centre for Science and Environment (CSE)

Atoexposed 2000! Did you reach the Auto-Expo on time? Or did it seem to take a lifetime - sitting in your car at the same red light inhaling petrol and diesel fumes? The dream of owning the 'in' car seems like a perfect picture but what price are we paying for it? Are we unconsciously adding to our own problems? More and more patients are being admitted to hospitals with cancer, lung disorders and breathing problems. When stuck in a jam you begin to think... Do we really need so many new cars on the roads?

AUTOEXPOSED 2000!
Industries cause lots of pollution ... but what about vehicles? In the last ten years, the number of vehicles on the road has almost doubled. The pollution they are causing is much more. Pollution from automobiles has increased eight times which is a very big amount. Imagine if your marks increased or decreased by eight times. Automobiles are a menace.

The problem is the fuel cars use. Petrol is bad enough, but diesel is really harmful to the air. Though it is cheap, the actual cost is our lives. The most harmful thing it gives out are small tiny particles which are 1/10 the diameter of hair — thus invisible. So, we can't feel that an invisible particle can cause big harm to mankind. These tiny killers continue to take lives and send an increasing number of people to the hospitals. The number of vehicles on the road has become a health hazard.

Nevertheless, this year is the fifth Indian automobile exhibition in Delhi. People are coming from far and wide to Auto-Expo 2000, to look at the large variety and different type of cars on display.

Car manufacturers, both from India and abroad, are show-casing their models of diesel-powered cars. Metallic colours, glitzy banners, entertaining cheer-leader shows, and credit payment schemes sell the great Indian dream of owning a low-cost, high efficiency, private car.

Gobar Times went along too. We found that there were petrol and diesel cars. A new attraction was the compressed natural gas (CNG) model. 2 stroke and 4 stroke engines for scooters. There was a car with a LPG cylinder. An added advantage — you can cook when the car breaks down!

Glitzy stalls with beautiful women were attracting huge crowds. "WOW! What a model!" onlookers exclaimed breathlessly. Was it the car they were talking about? While people dived in and out of cars, the company's executive rattled off the cars’ latest features in a monotone while handing out colourful bags.

Can cars be environmentally-friendly?
The world famous companies all claimed they can. Automobile manufacturers were running helter skelter trying to woo their consumers with the 'most eco-friendly cars'. Though the Fiat representative proudly pointed out that his was the only stall which actually displayed an eco-friendly car. Unlike others who only spoke about it. "Have you seen anybody else talk about the environment?" he questioned. But he did not have the last laugh. When asked, all companies had some new and innovative technology in their cars to check pollution. Some companies made their cars Euro I and Euro II compliant, when continuously tapped on the heads by new laws, and with deadlines pushed into their faces by the Supreme Court.

The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) had set up a 'green pavilion'. Through the questionnaire they had prepared for the public, they were aiming to make people "aware of the causes of pollution in their city". The SIAM engineers believed that the car owners were totally responsible for their cars. Nevertheless, SIAM president Venu Srinivasan confessed: "We’ve got a bad name because we’ve not been responsible enough earlier. But now we’re realising our responsibilities too."

Fighting car pollution
The governments of Sweden and the United States of America ask their car manufacturers to give an ‘emission warranty’ — i.e. if the car is producing a lot of pollution due to some technical problem then the company is asked to take the car, repair it at its own cost, and return it. Does India have the guts to implement such a law?

"We've got a bad name because we've not been responsible enough earlier. But now we're realising our responsibilities too"

VENU SRINIVASAN,
President of SIAM

And while the best diesel in the world is Swedish Class I which contains 0.001% of sulphur, India's best diesel has a sulphur content of about 0.05%. Isn't that astonishing?

Moreover, other big cities in the world close all the industries and ban cars when the pollution level is very high. But is Delhi capable of taking such a step?

India isn’t yet following the measures other countries are taking to avoid pollution. Then why do we think that just because other countries don't get polluted, we won't either?

This year we have to take concerned steps so that we can enjoy our freedom to breathe fresh air.

LUNGING TO BREATHE

Inhaling city smog is bad for the body and bad for the brain. What to do? We, the citizens of India, need to pressurise the government into addressing the issue

OPINIONS ON POLLUTION
CSE has put up a stall at the Auto Expo 2000 warning people about high pollution levels in Delhi’s air. Ms. Shiela Dixit, Chief Minister of Delhi inaugurated the exhibition (see pic below).

The exhibition is an eye-opener on the devastation caused by vehicular air pollution. But how should we fight pollution? We went along to find out some answers.

"You have to nag, you have to push the government to do something. You be the leaders, we shall follow you."

Shiela Dixit, Cief Minister of Delhi

"We are not being given clean air to breath in Delhi. We must educate schoolchildren about environmental degradation. In Denmark, schoolchildren are sensitised enough to give adults a lesson on, say, water conservation."

The Danish Ambassador

"It is time for the public to put pressure on the government and auto industry to take the onus of cleaning Delhi’s air. The government should enforce stricter air-pollution norms for vehicular emissions, whereas the industry should manufacture less-polluting vehicles."

Anil Agarwal, Director CSE

The message was loud and clear. Delhi will become a graveyard if present pollution trends continue. But it is up to the Indian public to jostle for attention amidst the snazzy car models, and make sure that the government understands that.

INTERVIEW

To find out exactly what the Delhi government is planning to do about air pollution, GT interviewed Shiela Dixit, Chief Minister of Delhi.

Gobar Times: In the recent past, the student body in Delhi has taken up important issues like Diwali crackers and plastics. Air pollution is going to be our third major campaign. Can we expect a more enthusiastic response this time from the government?

Shiela Dixit: Your campaign against plastic bags is not yet over. Wherever possible we are forcing the shopkeepers and the manufacturers not to give polybags and rather provide paper bags or cloth bags. You have to nag, you have to push the government to do something. You be the leaders, we shall follow you. I am very sure you will definitely get a better response next time.

GT: The Delhi government talks a lot but doesn't do anything.

SD: No, darling, we are doing. There will be a tremendous change this year.

GT: Why aren't there any more compressed natural gas (CNG) buses on the roads even as you get closer to your deadline?

SD: Every time we have to convert a bus running on diesel into one that runs on CNG, we have to specially import a kit. Now we have decided to stop this practice and completely phase out the old buses. Instead, we are going to buy buses which are manufactured to run on CNG only. Right now, we are thinking of buying around 3000 buses like this. There are only 12-13 CNG stations. Its a challenge for us.

GT: In other big cities around the globe when the pollution level becomes too high, the cars are stopped from running, and industries are closed down for two to three days. Is Delhi capable of taking such a step?

SD: We are trying to shift our industries to nearby cities. Everything cannot be changed in one night. Last year we were fourth most polluted city. Today our position is seventh or eighth.

GT: Delhi's pollution is affecting nearby cities and towns. If we shift the industries to these towns, will it not affect us?

SD: Ten lakh people come everyday from nearby towns and cities to work here without paying anything. They use my air, my water, my roads, and my electricity free of cost. No effort will free Delhi from air pollution with one hand. We have to join hands and rid the pollution from the city.