The CNG crisis

Use existing systems efficiently

The long queues of autorickshaws, buses and cars at Delhi’s petrol pumps for Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) confirms the lack of planning that state and central governments are often accused of. Apart from this, they also tell the plight of the owners of these vehicles who have to wait for close to a day to get a refill thereby reducing their number of earning days by 50 per cent from what it was before CNG was introduced. A crisis situation on the availability of CNG was predicted almost two months back, and both the state and the central governments have not been able to tackle which could now lead to riots on the streets of Delhi. The centre has indicated that at the current pace of adding filling stations, the situation would not be completely eased until the year end. Not only this, they have also indicated a shortage of gas to meet the requirements of other metros. The recent bus explosion in the capital has also raised doubts in people’s mind on the safety factor, which could very well lead to an increase in private vehicles such as scooters on the roads leading to increased traffic jams and more pollution. It’s time that both the centre and state avoid getting into a blame game as the issue is not really a legal one. The issue really is the lack of an alternative public transport. This was the creator of the pollution problem — leading to an unchecked increase in overall vehicular traffic, including autorickshaws and buses. Instead of waiting for the much-talked about metro rail system, why can’t the authorities use the existing rail system which runs across all main city centres more effectively? All that is required is a good feeder network.