Moody's upgrades Saudi Arabia's credit rating to Aa3 with stable outlook    Riyadh Metro to begin partial operations next Wednesday: Report    Al Okhdood halts Al Shabab's winning streak with a 1-1 draw in Saudi Pro League    Mahrez leads Al Ahli to victory over Al Fayha in Saudi Pro League    Al Qadsiah hands Al Nassr their first defeat in the Saudi Pro League    Saudi musical marvels takes center stage in Tokyo's iconic opera hall    Downing Street indicates Netanyahu faces arrest if he enters UK    London's Gatwick airport reopens terminal after bomb scare evacuation    Civil Defense warns of thunderstorms across Saudi Arabia until Tuesday    Saudi Arabia, Japan strengthen cultural collaboration with new MoU    Slovak president meets Saudi delegation to bolster trade and investment ties    Saudi defense minister meets with Swedish state secretary    Navigating healthcare's future: Solutions for a sustainable system    Al Khaleej qualifies for Asian Men's Club League Handball Championship final    Sixth foreign tourist dies of suspected methanol poisoning in Laos    Katy Perry v Katie Perry: Singer wins right to use name in Australia    Trump picks Pam Bondi as attorney general after Matt Gaetz withdraws    Al-Jasser: Saudi Arabia to expand rail network to over 8,000 km    Sitting too much linked to heart disease –– even if you work out    Denmark's Victoria Kjær Theilvig wins Miss Universe 2024    Order vs. Morality: Lessons from New York's 1977 Blackout    India puts blockbuster Pakistani film on hold    The Vikings and the Islamic world    Filipino pilgrim's incredible evolution from an enemy of Islam to its staunch advocate    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



India's choked capital starts ‘pollution toll' for trucks
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 02 - 11 - 2015

Delhi on Sunday introduced a toll for all trucks and commercial vehicles in an attempt to improve air quality in the world's most polluted capital ahead of Diwali celebrations.
Trucks are banned from entering the Indian capital during the day, but every night after 8pm more than 50,000 pour in, according to the Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment (CSE).
The independent center says lorries account for nearly a third of the pollution in Delhi, adding to a toxic mix of industrial fumes and dust from construction sites to produce hazardous levels of smog.
Last month, India's Supreme Court approved a four-month trial plan to charge light commercial vehicles an extra 700 rupees ($11) and large trucks 1,300 rupees to enter Delhi.
"The legal principle on which this charge has been levied is the principle of ‘polluter pays'," Supreme Court lawyer Harish Salve, whose petition prompted the Oct. 12 order, said.
Successive Delhi governments have faced flak for failing to curb pollution in the Indian capital, whose air quality is worse than even Beijing's.
A World Health Organization study of 1,600 cities released last year showed Delhi had the world's highest annual average concentration of small airborne particles known as PM 2.5.
These fine particles of less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter are linked to higher rates of chronic bronchitis, lung cancer and heart disease as they settle into the lungs and can pass into the bloodstream.
Many trucks transit through Delhi only to avoid paying tolls outside the city, and authorities hope the new toll will encourage drivers to use alternative routes.
But some have expressed doubts over how effectively it will be enforced, especially after authorities failed to implement a 2001 Supreme Court order banning trucks from passing through the city.
Greenpeace India said the order, which excludes passenger vehicles, oil tankers and trucks carrying foodstuffs, would only divert pollution rather than reduce it, and that drivers would be able to circumvent the toll by using unchecked entries.
"We have to see the effectiveness of it, but this is not going to solve all the problems," campaigner Sunil Dahiya said.
The city is expected to have the world's highest number of premature deaths due to air pollution by 2025 with nearly 32,000 fatalities, according to a study by Germany's Max Planck Institute for Chemistry.
With more than 8.5 million vehicles on Delhi's roads and 1,400 new cars being added every day, city authorities will have their work cut out to reduce pollution.
The city annually experiences a deterioration in air quality when winter sets in as farmers in neighboring states begin the mass burning of stubble that follows the harvest.
Smoke from open fires lit by the poor to keep warm adds to the problem, while Diwali, the Hindu festival of light, traditionally sees Delhi fill with acrid smoke from firecrackers.
Delhi held its first "car-free day" last week — although it restricted the initiative to the city centre and chose a public holiday, when traffic would in any case have been much lower than usual.


Clic here to read the story from its source.