Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], December 21 (ANI): In a bid to curb vehicular pollution and enforce stricter compliance with emission norms, the State Transport Authority (STA) in Odisha has directed oil marketing companies to stop dispensing petrol and diesel to vehicles without a valid Pollution Under Control Certificate (PUCC).

Several districts in Odisha are likely to experience dense fog in the coming days, prompting authorities to issue road safety alerts.

In view of this, the State Transport Authority (STA), Odisha, has urged road users to exercise extreme caution while driving to prevent accidents. Drivers are advised to reduce speed, use fog lights, avoid overtaking, and maintain safe distances from other vehicles.

'Dense fog warnings have been issued by the Water Resources Department for various districts of the state. Keeping this in mind, road users have been urged to exercise caution to stay away from accidents,' the State Transport Authority posted on X.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, the Delhi government stepped up its fight against air pollution by launching the 'No PUC, No Fuel' campaign and issuing more than 61,000 Pollution Under Control Certificates (PUCCs) within 24 hours, according to an official press release.

According to the release, the government is acting simultaneously on four fronts: vehicular pollution, dust from roads and construction activities, industrial pollution, and waste management. To rapidly reduce pollution, strict enforcement of the 'No PUC, No Fuel' campaign is underway, along with curbs on the entry of non-Delhi vehicles that do not meet BS-6 standards.

Delhi's traffic police have implemented large-scale arrangements at the city's borders to enforce GRAP-IV rules, collecting 2,686 fines so far.

Additional CP Traffic Dinesh Kumar Gupta told ANI that since the GRAP Stage-IV rules were implemented in the capital, large-scale traffic arrangements have been made around the clock at major and minor borders to ensure compliance with regulations.

Gupta said they have, to date, collected approximately 2,686 fines for PUCC violations and 422 fines for BS6 vehicles. He also mentioned that efforts are underway to raise awareness among the public in neighbouring states through social media and government advertisements about GRAP Stage-IV rules. (ANI)