60,000 aging vehicles ordered off Calcutta roads

More than 60,000 aging vehicles, from auto rickshaws to taxis, were ordered off the streets of eastern India’s largest city, Calcutta, over the weekend in an attempt to ease the city’s chronic air pollution. The Calcutta High Court had given owners of commercial vehicles older than 15 years a one-year deadline that ended August 1, but several transport groups have appealed the decision to India’s Supreme Court. According to government records, more than 60,000 vehicles, including three-wheeled auto rickshaws, buses, taxis and trucks, will be phased out in the city. The government is also encouraging new auto rickshaws and taxis to use compressed natural gas as fuel. All the phased-out vehicles use either gasoline or diesel fuel. (August 2, 2009)