It is true that Delhi is a progressive capital which is the pride of the country but amidst the big problem of air pollution, vehicles running on the roads of Delhi, traffic jams everywhere are giving a special message which needs to be heard and understood. Not only this, measures will also have to be taken. The country's capital Delhi has a special identity on the world map in which the diversity of entire India is visible but the worrying thing is the increasing traffic and increasing vehicles. Delhi has touched new heights of progress but the huge problem that is emerging in the matter of vehicles today is really giving alarm. At the same time, increasing air pollution is also becoming a big challenge.
It has also established itself as a modern capital but the increasing number of vehicles is emerging as a new challenge. Increasing vehicles are also giving birth to a new problem of air pollution for which the governments are seriously saying a lot but experts say that people will have to discipline themselves in this matter.
According to an estimate, the number of vehicles on Delhi's roads has increased by about 21 times in the last three decades, while the road length has only doubled. According to a report on vehicles, in 2021, there were more than 1.22 crore registered vehicles of all categories in Delhi. According to the report, the record-breaking increase in the number of motor vehicles between the three decades from 1981 to 2021 is a matter of concern. At the same time, the road length has increased from 15,487 km to just 33,198 km in the same time period. Accidents increased due to the number of vehicles The ever-increasing congestion on the roads of the capital has manifested itself in many transport problems. The traffic of the main road has almost crossed the threshold of the carrying capacity of the roads. The risk of accidents has also increased due to the increasing population and the increase in the number of vehicles on the roads. Vehicle population, human behavior also matter.
The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) also admitted that the number of vehicles in Delhi NCR has increased 21 times in the 40 years between 1981 and 2021 regarding the air pollution of Delhi NCR. But the basic road infrastructure has only doubled. This imbalance is suffocating our cities. For this, technology alone is not enough, behavioral changes are equally necessary. We will also have to use e-vehicles. People are also using e-vehicles today but this figure is very low. A lot will have to be done to promote e-vehicles.
The share of electric buses in Delhi's buses has increased to about 25 percent. More than 7,600 e-buses have already been deployed in this. It is said that Delhi is not livable for three months every year. Air pollution causes us a loss of 6.3 years of life and about Rs 100,000 crore i.e. three percent of GDP. It would be good if all two and three-wheelers become electric within a year. All new taxis must be electric.
It is also important to note that about 90 lakh vehicles are registered in the capital and according to an estimate, about 50 lakh of them ply on the roads every day. Apart from this, about 10 lakh vehicles come to the capital from the neighboring state. In this way, about 60 lakh vehicles ply on the roads of the capital every day, but parking arrangements are also necessary.
The problem of parking is increasing continuously in the capital. The parking facility is not being provided according to the speed at which the number of vehicles is increasing in the capital. Compared to the number of vehicles plying on the roads every day, the parking facility is like a drop in the ocean. Due to this, cases of fights among people regarding parking keep coming up every day. Apart from this, the problem of traffic jam persists due to vehicles being parked on the roads every day. Therefore, the capital is currently facing a big crisis in terms of parking facilities.
There are about 560 parking spaces in Delhi and about 30 thousand vehicles can be parked in them. This situation is a serious problem, because the lack of parking has become a challenge for vehicle owners. Due to lack of parking, vehicle owners have to park on the roads or at illegal places. This not only obstructs traffic and causes more congestion, but also affects road safety. Apart from this, vehicle owners have to wait for a long time for parking every day, which wastes their time. Although efforts are being made by the government to solve the parking problem, but they themselves are not serious. There is no sense of parking the vehicle which is most needed. Parking vehicles near the roads is not a good thing. People will have to become disciplined. To solve the parking problem, local bodies have increased the number of parking spaces many times, but this increase is much less than the increasing number of vehicles.
After all, the roads and space are the same. Delhi's infrastructure has remained strong. There is a network of flyovers. In such a situation, records show that 7 to 9 lakh vehicles are registered in Delhi every year. According to an estimate, 2000-3000 new vehicles come on the roads of Delhi every day. It has been observed that even today a large part of Delhi's population is not fully connected to the public transport system. People prefer to commute in their cars and it is becoming a status symbol. Owning expensive cars has become a matter of pride. Every house has three, four, five vehicles. This may be fine for businessmen and companies but this trend is not right in neighborhoods and colonies.