Tata has promised us a ‘car of the people’.
It is really nice to think that one can buy a car for a lac. It will be affordable to many Indians who are now unable to buy cars. It will surely add to their convenience.
Except, there is one caveat. Scientists are now beyond doubt about the enviromental impact of human activities. And it is proving quite lethal. Polar caps are melting away. Ice in the himalyas are melting away. As early as 30-50 years from now, the Ganga may become dry during summers.
I repeat, in 30-50 years, if we go at the same rate, the Ganga, the holy Ganga for the Hindus, will become dry in summers. That means a lot. It means a humungous amount. There will be no water to irregate the vast fields whose thirst in the summer is quenched with Ganga’s water. It means less food for the growing population. The water level in these areas will go further down.
That will be a complete catastrophe. All major rivers will share the same fate.
What has this got to do with One Lac Car?
A lot: a lot more people will buy cars if they become cheaper. With the cars, they’ll need more oil. So we’ll burn more oil. We will release more CO2 into the air. We will help the earth heat up faster. Whereas we should be riding cars less often and reducing our CO2 emission, we will actually end up increasing it.
There is a much better alternative. Public transport. We already have a well developed and working public transport. What we have to do is to make it more reliable and faster. Public transport drinks much less amount of oil per head, releases much less of CO2 per head, and costs much less for everybody. Best of all, there’s no maintenance to be done(unlike private cars).
Why don’t we develop more urban trams and buses? Electic trams, trains and buses are much more enviroment friendly than aeroplane, let alone cars. Cars emit maximum amount of CO2 per passenger. I’d prefer electric buses. We’ll colour them green- green like banana leaf. I can almost see them.
A train is much better than even an aeroplane in terms of enviromental impact. What about having a high speed tram train, that’ll start from Mumbai town on a elevated urban track and immediately after leaving Mumbai notches up a speed of 350km/h. Within 7 hours, it reaches Kolkata and in Kolkata, it runs on the streets like a tram. Everybody gets up and gets down at their doorstep.
What is the use of development if nobody lives to enjoy it?
Indeed a precarious situation!!!
Good one Manas! I share your concern.
Well said. At least environmental conciousness is more developed in India then in other developing countries, but it still doesn’t seem to be enough. Indians have always taken concern for the world as a whole, not just selfish, narrow interests. I hope that India will remember the current concerns about the global environment as it develops its economy.