Right from the day this car was unveiled, many people have been criticising this wonderful car on the pretext that it will increase congestion on the roads and increase air pollution. I have seen several such articles, even in the newspapers published in USA and Canada. There is no doubt that more cars on the road will lead to more air pollution, however, the western countries don't have the exclusive privilege to create air-pollution. Until recently, about 18 million new cars were being sold in USA every year. Other than the lip-service, there has been no serious effort to reduce the number of vehicles on the road or to introduce electric or natural-gas powered vehicles.
All people have a basic right to travel in reasonable comfort. If a reliable, comfortable, fast and reasonably priced public transit system is available, most people automatically get inclined to leave their cars at home. Singapore offers an excellent network of subway trains, buses and cheap taxis, and therefore people don't feel the need to own a car. A similar public transit system does not exist in any city of USA and Canada. In Toronto, though a good transit system is available, it discourages people to use it for short distance, as the ticket price is the same whether one travels two kilometres or thirty. Because of this reason, it is cheaper, convenient and saves me time to use a car to go to my office than going by bus.
Instead of criticising Nano, let us look at its great feature. Nano has an excellent fuel efficiency of over 23 KMs per litre. It is a matter of honour for the country that world's cheapest car has been designed in India, and Nano has potential to be exported in large numbers. Besides, Nano may replace highly polluting two-stroke scooters and auto-rickshaws from Indian roads. Three cheers to Nano!
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