Gopal Rai launches 'Red Light On, Gaadi Off' campaign in Delhi to counter pollution

New Delhi, Oct 26 (IANS) The Delhi government on Thursday launched its 'Red Light On, Gaadi Off' campaign to counter the air pollution in the city that peeks around this time of the year.

State Environment Minister Gopal Rai kicked off the drive by distributing red roses to the public at the ITO red light to encourage them to turn off their vehicles while waiting at the traffic signals.

While interacting with media, the minister said that every day a person stops at least 10-15 red lights and keeps the vehicles on for at least half an hour on average.

If they stop the vehicle during that time then they can make a significant contribution in stopping air pollution.

The campaign is part of a slew of initiatives taken by the Delhi government to tackle the problem of air pollution in the national capital.

The volunteers and other officials present with the environment minister were seen holding up placards that urged people to stop their vehicles while at red light.

They were seen interacting with people at the ITO red light about how turning off vehicles at a red light can reduce air pollution by upto 20 per cent.

Meanwhile, the air quality in the national Capital continued in the 'Poor' category as the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) of the city reached 256 on Thursday morning, according to data from the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR).