The unprecedented restrictive measures, aimed at curbing pollution, was rolled out in the city yesterday that led to a major cut in the number of cars on city roads. Still, traffic police and volunteers said the full impact could not really be measured until Monday, a full working day, when many private offices reopen after the New Year holiday.
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Police officials said they do not have enough staff to properly enforce the rule, particularly in a city where drivers regularly flout the most basic traffic laws. The trial will last until Jan 15. Only private cars bearing odd-numbered registration plates were allowed to ply on the city’s roads. Not only ministers but even volunteers requested violators to follow odd-even rule and greeted them with flower. Those caught violating the scheme have to pay a penalty of Rs 2,000. The minister owns an odd numbered vehicle therefore he chose to take a bicycle ride to reach office.
But traffic policemen on Friday were happy and surprised to find Delhiites obeying the rules. “Whenever pollution levels spike this is used as a weapon”, Kejriwal said. “Civil defence volunteers found it hard to practice gandhigiri, couldn’t find people to give roses to”.
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Delhi’s embattled state chief minister, Arvind Kejriwal, who had been criticised by political opponents for “hurriedly introducing” the alternate-day travel ban, tweeted: “Delhi has done it!” Still, the plan represents the most dramatic effort the city has undertaken to combat pollution since a court order in 1998 mandated that all public transport run on CNG.
Gyanendra, a dentist at Maulana Azad Institute of Medical Sciences, said: “I think it is a good step to check pollution in Delhi”. “We expected at least 10 per cent of people to violate the rule, but violations were less than 1 per cent”, he said. On Saturday, 229 vehicle drivers were fined, according to Delhi Police.
The AQI showed increased pollution levels at central, west, south and east Delhi. The massive construction in satellite towns and wood fires in nearby rural areas have added to the problem. Going by mainly vote bank politics, the government can not take measures for the long-term benefit of the people, and in that case it would have been very hard to implement the odd-even formula.
East Delhi resident Amrish Mishra told IANS that he spotted only two even-numbered vehicles as he drove all the way to Safdarjung Airport in south Delhi.
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Still, others wonder if Delhi would be able to pull it off for the whole two-week period. But police officers said fining was not their main aim.
