The last leg of the Delhi government’s ambitious Switch Delhi campaign witnessed huge participation from the capital’s youth in wherein hundreds of students and activists came forward and pledged to buy their first vehicle an electric one, officials said.
The final week of the Switch Delhi mass awareness campaign has received an overwhelming response from Delhi’s youth. Students joined the movement in large numbers, took the Switch Delhi pledge to make their first vehicle electric, they added.
“I strongly feel that switching to electric is a much-needed change that is required today. It helps in reducing pollution as well as lower operating costs. It is important for the youth to turn this campaign (Switch Delhi) into a mass movement to inspire the rest of the country in making sustainable choices,” Trisha Pavagadhi, Student and Member, Enactus Hansraj said.
The eight-week-long campaign which flagged off in February by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is targeted to promote and sensitize city residents about the benefits of switching to electric vehicles as well as create awareness about the Delhi government’s Electric Vehicle (EV) policy. As per the AAP government, their EV policy aims to achieve the overarching objective to improve Delhi’s air quality.
Student environmentalist Aditya Dubey said that the youth must remain at the forefront of environmentally friendly policies.
“The transportation sector is one of the main sources of PM 2.5 emissions in Delhi and contributes to around 22% of air pollution. Electric Vehicles are environment-friendly, futuristic, and have a low total cost of operation as compared to petrol and diesel vehicles. The youth needs to be at the forefront of this campaign to switch to EVs, as we will have to suffer drastic consequences of climate change in the future,” he added.
Meanwhile, various events were organised on the eighth week of the campaign for creating awareness among youngsters about the monetary and environmental benefits of electric vehicles witnessed various events.
Vrikshit Foundation, led by a group of students, conducted a wall painting event. Let Me Breathe, an environment storytelling platform, created awareness on social media about the electric vehicle movement, the statement said.
Under the EV policy, the UT government has fixed an ambitious target of 25 per cent electric vehicles among total vehicle registrations in Delhi by August 2024.
During the launch of the campaign, Kejriwal had announced that within the next six months only electric vehicles are hired by its different departments.