Asian Games: Chinese city to restrict vehicular movement

Beijing: China`s Guangzhou city, which will host the Asian Games, will restrict the movement of 40 percent of the vehicles to curb pollution, a media report said Monday.

The Guangzhou city will host the Asian Games and the Asian Para Games Nov 1-29 and Dec 5-21 respectively.Lin Daoping, an official, said the even-odd license plate method, an experiment tried during the Beijing Olympic Games, will be introduced between 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the city. The restriction will apply to all roads in Guangzhou, the provincial capital of Guangdong, during the Asian Games and some roads during the Asian Para Games, the official was quoted as saying. However, the restriction does not apply to public transport and support vehicles for the Games.Police estimate that the license plate restriction would force about 40 percent of all vehicles off the roads. Guangzhou, which has about 2.1 million vehicles, will add 1,000 more buses and offer free public transport to limit the impact on the daily life of residents, Lin said. IANS