Car Boom Brings Gridlock Misery To
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HINDUSTAN TIMES, NEW DELHI 02 IN THE NEWS THURSDAY, JULY 25, 2019 llTRAFFIC TOIL l CAR BOOM BRINGS GRIDLOCK BOOK REVIEW A delightful learning MISERY TO ‘HAPPY’ BHUTAN experience! Bhutan has seen a more than Armaan Mathur five-fold increase in cars, The book, titled The Earth buses and trucks on its roads Carer’s Guide to Climate Change, is an intuitive effort to in the last two decades, with acquaint young readers with capital Thimphu hardest hit the adverse consequences of our actions on the planet. Brim- by the influx of vehicles ming with colourful illustra- Agence FrancePresse tions, quirky art and interactive language, the book is a must- read, especially for new read- THIMPHU, BHUTAN: Famed for valuing ers. The book opens up with Gross National Happiness over some beautifully composed economic growth, Bhutan is a poems on nature and social life, poster child for sustainable devel- abbreviations to ensure easy along with a touching Japanese opment. comprehension even at a lay- folk tale, thereby setting the But booming car sales may man level. Throughout the book tone for the issues of Climate impact efforts to preserve its rare readers have been encouraged change and how it impacts on status as a carbon negative coun- to explore, discover, and com- our future. The editor has made prehend rather than simply try — and an increase in traffic is n A view of a traffic jam on a road in the composition engaging and testing the good humour of its citi- Bhutan's capital Thimphu. Famed cram plain facts. easily comprehensible. zens. for valuing Gross National As the title suggests, it is a Let’s start with the art. Bhutan has seen a more than Happiness over economic growth, guide to climate change; but Things like climate change, the five-fold increase in cars, buses Bhutan was a poster child for what I am really happy about is greenhouse effect, or even and trucks on its roads in the past sustainable development, but a that instead of emphasising on global warming are not easy to two decades, according to trans- boom in car sale may jeopardise its what is out of our hands, the illustrate through flow charts port authority director general rare status as a carbon-negative focus has been on what we can and diagrams. The art was sim- do as an individual. I have to Pemba Wangchuk with capital country. AFP ply invigorating; for the dura- Thimphu hardest hit by the influx admit that this book has cleared tion of this book I was an 8-year- of vehicles. quette -- some simply leave their even my personal conceptual old again, gawking at the col- Phuntsho Wangdi, a media con- cars parked in the middle of the doubts regarding climate ourful illustrations and the sultant, says the congestion and road -- compounds the problem. four-year-old daughter at school RADICAL MEASURES change.Another thing that can quirky side notes. And by col- lack of parking now makes driving “Every year the number of cars every day before heading to work. Bhutan and Suriname are the only be mentioned is the little titbits ourful, I don’t mean only the stressful in the tiny Himalayan and the number of people are The traffic jams are a sign of the two countries to claim they are car- of information sprinkled very traditional ‘crying earth’ illus- kingdom where there are no traffic increasing, and the roads have wider economic changes the nation bon negative. Public transport is cleverly throughout the text. trations; the art here is of a lights. remained the same, and it’s a prob- is facing. Bhutan is renowned for poor, particularly in Thimphu, All in all, the book checks all the much more personal nature. I “I wish there were fewer cars. It lem for us,” Lhendup, a taxi driver, prioritising Gross National Happi- which is home to 100,000 people but good boxes; beautiful art, sim- remember a poem titled Woman wasn’t like this before,” he adds of says. ness over GDP, and has captured barely 40 buses. ple language and most impor- by Alison Dummell which was life in Thimphu, which is home to Morning rush hour journeys tourists’ imagination as a tranquil, The capital’s mayor Kinlay Dorji tantly, fun learning- check! nothing but a woman fetching half the cars in the country. The that once took five minutes now idyllic land, but there are signs of plans to introduce bus-only lanes water with a matka (earthen The contributor is a student of Class 11, nation’s economy has grown 7.5% take more than half an hour. This malcontent. on city roads and wants to buy pot). But the shades used and Birla Vidya Niketan, Pushp Vihar each year in the past decade, may seem a small figure compared Bhutan ranked 95th out of 156 more buses.“It’s time for radical the atmosphere enhanced the according to the World Bank. Offi- to the hours of gridlock faced by countries in the 2019 UN World measures,” he says. “We have to appeal of the poem. cials estimate there is now one car commuters in Manila, Jakarta, Happiness Report. make public transport more Unlike most educational Title: The Earth Carer’s Guide to for every seven people in Bhutan, and Bangkok, but it is a step- And while taxes have increased attractive and discourage owning Climate Change books intended for a younger which has a total population of change for the Bhutanese who say and restrictions put on vehicle cars,” he adds, warning that unless Author: Various audience, this book didn’t try 750,000. the situation has rapidly deterio- loans, car buyers are not discour- action was taken Thimphu risked Edited by Geeta Dharmarajan too hard to be humorous or cool. But the nation’s narrow country rated in the past year. aged. Local financial institutions grinding to a standstill. To ease Publisher: Katha Books The editor has refrained from lanes and outdated city roads can “Its chaotic. I eat my breakfast in gave $46 million in car loans in congestion, the city is also building Price: ₹195 using any sort of slang or even barely cope. A lack of infrastruc- the car now to save time,” says 2015, but by last year the amount its first two multi-storey car parks ture, along with poor driving eti- Kuenzang Choden, who drops her had reached $96 million. that will each take about 600 cars.. llBULLETIN l Boris Johnson to formally take charge as US announces Goa govt planning to launch water taxis Swift, Grande lead PM with promise to meet Brexit deadline antitrust review of PANAJI: In a first, the BJP-led Goa tabling the performance budget of VMA nominations government is planning to ply the River Navigation department LOS ANGELES: Taylor Swift and Ariana LONDON: Boris Johnson began put- sive figure best known for his big tech firms ‘water taxis’ in its inland water- for the 2019-2020. “Water taxis will Grande dominated nominations on ting together his top team as he pre- gaffes and rhetorical flourishes, WASHINGTON: The United States on ways between Panaji and Old Goa, be introduced for Panaji to Old Goa Tuesday for the MTV Video Music pared to take over as Britain’s was elected on Tuesday by mem- Tuesday announced it would begin the Legislative Assembly was told route with the help of experts,” Awards (VMA) with 10 apiece, but Prime Minister on Wednesday, on bers of the governing Conservative an antitrust review of major online on Wednesday. Chief minister Pra- stated the document. The depart- some K-pop fans cried foul when a mission to deliver Brexit by Octo- party to be their next leader. platforms to determine if they have mod Sawant also said ferry boats ment stated it was considering to best-selling Korean bands were ber 31 by any means necessary. “stifled” innovation or reduced operating on solar power would be replace three old ferry boats with placed in a separate category. The former London mayor, a divi- HAMMOND QUITS AS competition. introduced on different routes. The new ones and procure solar ener- Grande’s breakup anthem ‘thank FINANCE MINISTER The announcement by the Jus- announcement was made while gy-operated hybrid boats. PTI u, next’ and Swift’s ‘You Need to British finance minister Philip tice Department did not name spe- Calm Down,’ will contend for the Hammond resigned from the gov- cific companies but appeared to top prizes of song of the year, best ernment on Wednesday, following signal the department was target- NTPC and BHEL ink pact for power plant pop and video of the year. REUTERS through on a promise to leave ing Google, Facebook and Amazon, rather than serve under incoming which dominate key sectors of the NEW DELHI: State-owned power pro- said the plant shall be the most effi- prime minister Boris Johnson. digital economy. ducer NTPC on Wednesday said it cient and environmental-friendly Hammond said he had left the It was not immediately clear if has signed a pact with BHEL to set power plant in the world, once it economy in a state that would the probe would also target Apple, up an 800 MW technology demon- becomes operational, resulting in allow his successor to choose which despite not being the domi- stration plant (TDP) at its power reduction of carbon dioxide emis- between tax cuts, higher spending nant smartphone maker wields plant in Chhattisgarh. The TDP sion by about 20 per cent as com- n Boris Johnson, leader of the Conservative or faster debt reduction if they left power over services via its App will be set up through a joint ven- pared to the conventional sub-crit- Party, in London, on Tuesday REUTERS the EU smoothly.