TATA is all set to create history (and a whole new market) by introducing Mint (that is what it was originally called), the 1 lakh car in the upcoming edition oh the Delhi Auto Expo in January 2008. Must I admit, the prospect of owning a car, and that too at such a low cost, is too enticing. While the features and standards adopted for this car are doggedly kept under wraps, it stands a very good chance to forever alter the dynamics of the Indian auto industry.
And that is what terrifies me…
I’m scared to think of the prospects when the Mint, as cool as ever, is lapped up in thousands, or maybe even lakhs, by urban and semi urban (and a lot of rural) India alike. It is natural to expect that several of these new age car owners will chuck hanging out of local trains and buses to opt for a comfortable drive to work on our already log-jammed roads.
What this will do to the environment could well be what nightmares are made of…
Imagine having thousands and thousands of more cars on the already choked roads of Indian cities. Imagine what it would do to the ambient air quality… Imagine what it will do to Carbon Dioxide emissions…People might one day need oxygen masks to step outside their homes.
The prospects look bleak, and they are not entirely impossible.
We need to prevent that. How will we? Or more importantly, will we? Time is running out…
The wheels of doom are going to begin rolling very soon…
P.S: Neeraj – it’s nothing but your status based snobbery that TATA is going to cater to. Guys, check out ‘Batti Bandh’ his amazing post on the social aspects of global warming @ Mind Chow.
