In a surprising admission for someone whose livelihood depends on cars, Cars24 CEO Vikram Chopra called on the government to curb cars amid Delhi’s worsening air crisis.
Speaking to the Indian Express, Cars24’s CEO said, “When someone like me starts arguing for fewer cars on the road, you should understand how desperate things have become.”
“I’m not writing this as a CEO. I’m writing this as a father and son. I have a five-year-old boy who should be playing outside, but instead asks why the sky is dirty again. I have 80-year-old parents who hesitate to go outside because the air burns their throats. This is not a theory. This is not politics. This is the hard truth of my family. It refuses to do anything that makes everyday life a little more uncomfortable,” wrote Vikram Chopra.
Delhi AQI
Chopra’s request to the government comes amid dangerous levels of air pollution in Delhi. Air quality in the capital was recorded in the “very poor” category with an AQI of 335 on Wednesday morning.
The outlook for the next five days suggests that air quality may range from severe to very poor, according to the forecast issued by the Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi.
According to the CPCB, an AQI between zero and 50 is considered “good”, 51 to 100 “satisfactory”, 101 to 200 “moderate”, 201 to 300 “bad”, 301 to 400 “very bad” and 401 to 500 “severe”.
Noting that “Delhi wants to breathe clean air without giving up a single comfort”, Cars24’s CEO wrote that the resulting “entitlement” “is a real pollutant”.
“And this is where I stop being polite. If limiting cars helps, limit them. If diesel needs to go away for four months, do it. If it works odd-even, bring it back. If construction sites are violating standards, shut them down that day, not after a dozen warnings. If an industry is a chronic delinquent, regulate it like a medical emergency, instead of negotiating with it like a fragile stakeholder,” the CEO went on to write.
Visuals from Delhi-NCR on Wednesday morning showed scenes that have become typical of winter, with toxic smog enveloping parts of the city.
GRAP III revoked
The Air Quality Management Commission on Wednesday revoked the restrictions under Phase 3 of the Delhi-NCR Graduated Response Action Plan (GRAP) and called for strengthening measures in Phase 2 of the GRAP.
CAQM activated Level 3 earlier this month citing a worsening pollution trend. Under GRAP-III, all non-essential construction is banned and restrictions on industries using polluting fuels will come into effect.
