IMPRACTICAL DEADLINES TO FOLLOW NORMS DON'T HELP

A 'No pollution certificate, no fuel' notice by the Odisha government has made vehicle owners line up before pollution testing centres across the state.

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People can be seen on serpentine queues, braving the chill and, ironically, the poor air quality to get their pollution under control certificates (PUCCs).

A massive backlash forced the BJP government to put off the deadline twice in a week. However, at a time pollution has emerged as a matter of grave concern, a staggering 78 percent of the 93 lakh vehicles in Odisha were found not to have valid PUCCs. Even the state police, which plies over 10,000 vehicles, had no clue of their PUCC status.