NEW DELHI: The Delhi Traffic police in the New Delhi Range mounted a three-day anti-encroachment drive from May 19 to 21, resulting in the issuance of 11,361 challans and the towing of 302 vehicles.
The operation, led by DCP Traffic New Delhi Range Rajiv Rawal, aimed to clear illegal obstructions that have narrowed key thoroughfares and created pedestrian hazards during peak hours.
The drive focused on more than two dozen high-footfall corridors, including Arjun Path between the GGR Flyover and RTR, Old Delhi–Gurugram Road, Mahipalpur Market, Sarojini Nagar Market, Khan Market, Tees January Marg, Connaught Place’s inner and outer circles, and Sarojini Nagar’s Vivekanand Marg to Munirka red light.
These routes, which connect vital arterial roads across the city, had increasingly been occupied by illegally parked TSRs, private taxis, rehri-partis, and e-rickshaws, reducing carriageway widths and forcing pedestrians into traffic.
During a field inspection on the first day, DCP Rawal noted that the encroachments had significantly shortened the usable roadway on both sides, raising safety concerns for commuters. “Wide roads have been squeezed into narrow lanes, leaving little room for pedestrians or smooth vehicular flow,” Rawal said.
In response, he convened with ACSP Traffic and the range’s station house officers to devise a systematic clearance plan.
Over three days, traffic teams cleared illegally parked vehicles across sectors, initiating prosecutions and impounding offenders’ vehicles. Officials pledged regular drives to keep corridors congestion-free, supported by photographic evidence of improved road and pavement conditions.