Patna, 4th May 2021: To curb the rising COVID-19 cases across the state and reduce the impact of the new wave, several direct and indirect restrictions have been issued on public and private transport services in Patna. This has reduced the number of vehicles on the roads, drastically reducing the amount of polluting gases emitted by burning petrol, and diesel. The amount of CO2, NO2, and SO2 has decreased by over 50 percent.

As a result, Patna’s air quality index has come down from 250-300 to just 118. If the contribution of dust-related factors like PM10 is to be removed, then it will reach below 100, which could be completely satisfactory for health.

The Bihar government had imposed a night curfew in Patna and the movement of vehicles without the necessary reason has been banned from 6 pm to 6 am. Due to the night curfew, the vehicle movement has reduced drastically and only about one-third of the vehicles are on the roads. On average, around 6 to 7 lakh vehicles are on the roads in Patna every day.