Ggn residents go green as many prefer carpooling

Gurugram: Gurugram residents may have heaved a sigh of relief from the last two days, after the poisonous smog engulfed the city for a week, have lessened.

The unhealthy air quality levels still pose a challenge for them to breathe freely. The particulate matter of 2.5 microns was registered on Thursday at 221-230 micrograms per cubic meters was way above the safety levels of 60.

Even though the city is plagued with poor public transportation system, a car free challenge for a week has been initiated in the city. The challenge will run from November 20 to November 26.

According to organisers there are more than 200 people who have enrolled for this initiative. Most of them are from residential condominiums and office complexes where rather than using their own vehicle an efficient system of car pooling options is now being undertaken.

"Few people from our residential society are doing their bit by using shuttle service and urge others also to do the same to save innocent lives," said Aman Chawla, a city resident.

"There may be many things that will be bad in Gurugram but there is a strong community bonding in Gurugram residential societies. At a time when city is reeling under the effects of deadly pollution the citizens of Gurugram have taken an active step in this. Having said the government and the district authorities cannot abdicate their responsibilities to tackle this grave challenge," said Shikha Rai, a city resident.

While the residents are doing their bit in reducing the number of vehicles in a city where more than eight lakh vehicles ply daily, the public transportation system is yet to be strengthened by the government.

Earlier, 500 buses for city services were to be introduced in December this year. However it has been extended to March next year. The reach of Metro services is also limited even though there is a private metro service that is running in the city along with Delhi Metro.