After 5 Days Of Even/Odd Rule, Pollution In Delhi Has Dropped Significantly! Still Unsafe Though!

23rd December 2015 saw Delhi touch the absolute extreme in pollution levels. With safe limits of PM 2.5 and PM 10 being 60 and 100 respectively, Delhi was at a toxic 534 and 853 around Anand Vihar metro station (considered to be one of the most polluted localities of the city). The critical conditions pushed Kejriwal and Co. to take drastic measures to ensure something changed.

indiantrasportportal.com

Taking a leaf out of Beijing's efforts of curbing air pollution levels, the even/odd formula was introduced in the city, the results of which were mixed so to speak. A number of people were against the idea purely because of the inconvenience it caused to office goers and other commuters, while some came out in support of Delhi government's decision. Even though AAP declared it as an outright success just one day into the fifteen-day trial run (ignoring the fact that 1st was anyway a holiday for most), things did look bright on the streets. Traffic on the roads eased up substantially, as most Delhiites realised, to make a difference for the sake of the city and the future generations.

vox

Five days on, here are some numbers you should know about. According to aqicn.org, the website that calculates the air quality of cities across the world, PM 2.5 in Anand Vihar at 3pm today, has gone down from 534 to 375 while PM 10 has dipped from 853 to 491. These numbers are in no way near the safe area but it is a clear indication that things are changing.

newsnation

But there are a number of negatives that the odd/even formula has brought along with it. There have been reports of auto drivers harassing and charging exorbitant amounts of money. Or the surcharges in the local taxi services. Some families even decided to buy a new car, not realising they are only adding to the trouble. The insane number of people found in local buses and metros proved that this was more of a knee-jerk reaction to the reports of Delhi being the most toxic in the world. All fair arguments, but something's gotta give.

People have followed #OddEven AAP/BJP Govt should also now tell what they have done for PublicTransport&AirPollution pic.twitter.com/xpRXR2dUDL

¡ª Ajay Maken (@ajaymaken) January 4, 2016

I know I am big supporter of #OddEven ; but i will never go to the extent of "glowing" my skin. :)) :)) :)) :)) https://t.co/TZRRI3qkOn

¡ª Yashwant Deshmukh (@YRDeshmukh) January 5, 2016

Perfect analogy for "at least we're doing something" bs from supporters of #OddEven https://t.co/uVEwLuPblk

¡ª Rupa Subramanya (@rupasubramanya) January 5, 2016

#Kejriwal has no idea about what he does.. #Delhi is worse off after 5 days of odd-even, people inconvenienced too! pic.twitter.com/VPWLDPQucG

¡ª Amit Malviya (@malviyamit) January 5, 2016

Things are nowhere close to being ideal, and these fifteen days might not change that fact, but what one cannot deny is that things are comparatively better. So don't give up yet Delhi.