Increasing the price of petrol is the best way to solve growing traffic and pollution problems. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

It is a contentious topic among thinkers that raising the cost of fossil fuels is the most effective method of tackling the increasing traffic and environmental issues. In

this

essay, I completely disagree with the price hike of fossil fuel as the best available solution because of the normal individual’s increased salary packages and lack of concern for these issues. People are affluent enough due to high takeaway salaries and can afford petrol remarkably easily.

This

is because people often have enough money plus petrol never took a toll on their personal finances. As evident from editorial research published in the November edition of TOI, engineers who fall under the higher tax slabs consumed more petrol despite recent price hikes by government.

Moreover

, metropolitan cities with these engineers were found to have poorer air quality index. The other major reason is the lack of concern for congestion and environmental problems. We have been tailored to be more concerned about problems which appear more threatening and eminent like terrorism and

thus

, we either repudiate issues

such

as global warming or undermine problems

such

as congestion. To give you a clear example, eight out of ten colleagues in my team are less worried about resolving the sanitation or traffic problems in Pune than tackling religious zealots entering India from other neighbour countries. In conclusion, notwithstanding the price hike of petroleum products, the use of vehicles is not going to budge as the public is more concerned of other media-hyped threats compared to detrimental effects of global warming or hindrances due to traffic snarls,

besides

, they have sufficient payouts to cater the surge in prices.