ADVERTISEMENTREMOVE AD

More Change Needed, Dear CM: An Open Letter to Arvind Kejriwal

A full-time mother writes an open letter to Arvind Kejriwal on traffic and pollution, and his odd-even car plan.

Updated
Blogs
5 min read
story-hero-img
i
Aa
Aa
Small
Aa
Medium
Aa
Large
Hindi Female

Dear Mr Kejriwal,

Desperate times call for desperate measures, no one understands that more than us. Our asthma is bad, our coughs have become chronic and running a marathon is ironically making us sicker. Most of us also don’t have the luxury to go to Bangalore for a cure. Which is why we are willing to jump in, cars last, into what you have proposed.

They say we brought it onto ourselves, but the reality is for decades our public transport system has had a life of it’s own away from any political significance. It connected those it could, and left out those who were happier not to wade through a daunting sea of humanity. But despite the argument we know things can be improved overnight if there is a will, political or otherwise. Remember the BRT corridor? That though is a debate for another day, for now we are trying to motivate each other and frankly the hope of any light, or rather clean air, at the end of the tunnel is worth every effort.



A full-time mother writes  an open letter to Arvind Kejriwal on traffic and pollution, and his odd-even car plan.
Delhi traffic. (Photo: The Quint/Sunil Goswami)

Please don’t think I am being a snob or that I am one of those who has five cars and is still making the most noise. It is the generalisation to any opposition without understanding what the objection is. No one in their senses can be anything but grateful to breathe in clean air. But then these days, nobody listens to anyone.

I willingly walk across European cities, happily ride on their metros and their buses, so why wouldn’t I want to do that in my own country? This is where you need to help us even before the vehicle deadline sets in.

ADVERTISEMENTREMOVE AD


A full-time mother writes  an open letter to Arvind Kejriwal on traffic and pollution, and his odd-even car plan.
A view of the Presidential Palace in Delhi, enveloped in a blanket of smog. (Photo: PTI)
0

For starters, maybe the fleet of buses can be increased and some of them are restricted for ‘women only’. It is not our fault, the city has brutally treated many of our own and it does not make us feel safe. This is not a churlish demand from someone who is still driving her car alone at night. I stopped doing that years ago when I realised being reckless and tempting fate in this city are two different things. The only difference in buses since I took them in college is that a few of them are now air-conditioned. But the crowd hasn’t changed, the number of people jostling for a seat has only increased. This will then have to further accommodate the spillover. Would I travel in them as they are with my two young daughters? Absolutely not.

Taking an auto-rickshaw is perhaps a Delhi citizen’s worst nightmare. Maybe it is such a sizeable vote-bank that no one has been able to tame the drivers or the way they drive. There is a reason they are not scared and that worries me. Knowing we are now at their mercy, they will take us for even more of a ride. But if authorities crack down on them now, we can be assured that they will at least charge by the meter.



A full-time mother writes  an open letter to Arvind Kejriwal on traffic and pollution, and his odd-even car plan.
Taking an auto-rickshaw in the city is perhaps a Delhi citizen’s worst nightmare. (Photo: Reuters)

We love our metro, it is our pride. But for some of us connectivity is a genuine issue. We will still try reaching it but walking even for half an hour in this filthy air defies the purpose of this entire exercise in the first place. Nor do I mind cycling, but then again that’s for the future when we can be carefree and not have to look at all sides simultaneously unsure of where the hit will come from.

So then if we can afford it, it boils down to taking an ‘Uber’. Apart from the fact that I do not take taxis in the dark in this city because I am still not convinced that all drivers have had their backgrounds checked meticulously, how is a taxi different from a car? If cab companies increase their fleet, which is likely given how most people have this as their backup solution when your odd-even plan goes into action, then why are we not driving our cars in the first place?

ADVERTISEMENTREMOVE AD


A full-time mother writes  an open letter to Arvind Kejriwal on traffic and pollution, and his odd-even car plan.
Reports suggest that air quality in Delhi has deteriorated over the past two years. (Photo: Reuters)
ADVERTISEMENTREMOVE AD

Strangely, some solutions have been staring us in the face. Firecrackers. Why were they not banned during Diwali, why are they still allowed at wedding functions? What is the point of tradition when no one is healthy enough to enjoy it? This does not need some long drawn out plan, all you need to do it is announce it tomorrow. Same goes for burning waste.

Then there are the two wheelers that race around with unchecked emission levels and trucks that cruise through the heart of our city. Which country allows this? We also understand that navigating some of this will be a political minefield. But if we can do it, so can you. You will also need to work on giving us more electricity, especially the industrial units, if you want to eliminate the menace of diesel.

ADVERTISEMENTREMOVE AD


A full-time mother writes  an open letter to Arvind Kejriwal on traffic and pollution, and his odd-even car plan.
(Photo: Reuters)

Maybe we need to follow China’s example once again. Beijing recently shut all schools due to the exceedingly poor quality of air. They were protecting the most fragile and the most susceptible, our children. No Indian school will voluntarily shut classes because studies are so ingrained in our system that even health takes a back seat. But it is high time that schools are at least instructed to monitor daily pollution levels so that they can decide if students should play outside or not. Only international schools in the capital do it for now. Why not the others?

ADVERTISEMENTREMOVE AD


A full-time mother writes  an open letter to Arvind Kejriwal on traffic and pollution, and his odd-even car plan.
Children are the most susceptible going to school in the Delhi pollution (Photo: Reuters)

So mask in hand, with a little bit of uncertainty and some sense of adventure we wait for the day. There is no guarantee that everyone will reach office that day. But anything is better than living in this ‘gas chamber’. All we ask for is that if we take two steps, you at least take one.

(Jyotsna Mohan Bhargava is a former journalist who now divides her time between blogging and being a full time mother. Tweet to her @jyotsnamohan)

(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)

Read Latest News and Breaking News at The Quint, browse for more from voices and blogs

Topics:  Arvind Kejriwal   Delhi   open letter 

Published: 
Speaking truth to power requires allies like you.
Become a Member
3 months
12 months
12 months
Check Member Benefits
Read More
×
×