Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai launched the “Red Light On, Gaadi Off” campaign on Wednesday. He appealed to all the residents of Delhi to join the campaign as part of the war against pollution.
Rai said, “Till now, the Delhi government and various agencies had been involved in the war against pollution. Today, we are reaching out to two crore people of Delhi to participate in this fight.” He said that only if the government and the society work together, the fight against pollution in Delhi can be won. Rai further said that if the two crore-strong population of Delhi contributes responsibly to this campaign, vehicular pollution in the capital can be reduced by 15 to 20%.
The Delhi Environment Minister further said, «About one crore vehicles are registered in Delhi which, on an average, burn fuel for about 15 to 20 minutes per day at the red lights. The purpose of this ‹Red Light On, Gaadi Off› campaign is to stop vehicles from burning fuel while standing at the traffic signals of Delhi. If two crore people of Delhi join this campaign with full responsibility, we can reduce vehicular pollution by 15 to 20%. This entire campaign is voluntary, the people of Delhi have to join the campaign voluntarily.»
“I say to the people of Delhi today that this entire campaign is on your shoulders. Nearly 2,500 civil defence volunteers have been appointed on the ground in collaboration with traffic police at 100 major traffic signals of Delhi. These volunteers will make people aware of this campaign through placards. Their duty will be in two shifts. The first shift will be from 8 am to 2 pm and the second shift will be from 2 pm to 8 pm,” Gopal Rai informed.
The minister also announced that on behalf of the Delhi government, MPs, MLAs, councillors, trade organizations, industry organisations, officers› organizations, NGOs and social and religious organisations have been requested to join this campaign. MLAs, councillors and MPs will participate in the campaign on October 22, 23 and 24, respectively. “This campaign will run till November 15. We are also in touch with Eco Club of Delhi, RWAs, etc. Let us explain to our families that the car should be stopped at the red lights in Delhi. We are confident that with people›s participation, we will successfully run this campaign and bring down vehicular pollution,” said Rai.