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Plan to cut vehicles on road during Olympics
Beijing will pull half its 3.3 million vehicles off the roads during the Olympics, betting the move, plus a stringent ban on construction and heavy industry, will clean the city's noxious air when the games open in seven weeks.
- Agencies
- Published: 00:08 June 21, 2008
Beijing/Lhasa: Beijing will pull half its 3.3 million vehicles off the roads during the Olympics, betting the move, plus a stringent ban on construction and heavy industry, will clean the city's noxious air when the games open in seven weeks.
Vehicles will be allowed on the roads on alternate days - according to even or odd car registration numbers - from July 20 until September 20. In addition, 300,000 heavy polluting vehicles - ageing industrial trucks - will be banned from July 1.
A deadly earthquake last month and fierce human-rights protests on international legs of the Olympic torch relay have removed some of the scrutiny from Beijing's chronic air pollution. But sparkling venues and $40 billion (Dh147 billion) spent to improve infrastructure have not disguised air quality worries.
Uneasy calm in Lhasa
International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge had said outdoor endurance events lasting more than an hour will be postponed if air quality is poor.
Courts in Tibet have handed down "punishments" to 12 people involved in riots in the capital Lhasa in March, China's state media said yesterday.
With the Beijing Olympic torch relay running through Lhasa today, Xinhua news agency said the rulings were made on Thursday and yesterday, quoting Tibet vice chairman Palma Trily. A semblance of calm has returned to the Tibetan capital since riots in March, locals said yesterday, but business remains tough with fewer tourists amid a strong police presence ahead of the Olympic torch rally.
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