‘No Vehicle Day’ on college campus in Chennai

MOP Vaishnav College in Chennai has launched ‘No vehicle day’. This sustainability initiative will be continued on the last Thursday of every month

In a city, one cannot keep exhaust fumes out of one’s life. But one can make sure they are not adding to them. Every last Thursday of the month, MOP Vaishnav College for Women will be making sure it does not. Last Wednesday (August 28), it got the initiative rolling, observing its first Zero Vehicle Day on its campus.

Students, faculty and non-teaching staff accustomed to bringing their vehicles to the campus switched to public transport, e-vehicles, share autorickshaws and bicycles. Some even walked to the college: among those who did was the MOP principal Archna Prasad, who walked from home to college, a distance of three kilometres.

The brainchild of the Student Ministry of Environment, an arm of M.O.P. Sansad, the student council, the initiative aims to contribute towards emission reduction, make sustainability part of the campus community, and of course, help students and staff members get a little more exercise, said a press release.

As a run-up to this day, student groups made announcements through the public address system, conducted a flash mob and even posted messages on social media.

E-vehicles were permitted and those with physical challenges were exempt from the initiative. Even pre-scheduled guests to campus were requested to use public or shared transport.

Principal Archna Prasad says the plan is to observe the last Thursday of every month as No Vehicle Day. “If there is an unscheduled event or an examination then we might observe it on some other day of that week, say Wednesday or Friday,” says the principal,

The college has close to 4000 students on its rolls.