Fewer private cars were seen on the roads as the second phase of the odd-even scheme was rolled out in Delhi on Friday to combat spiraling air pollution with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal appealing to people to join hands to make the initiative a success. Thousands of policemen and civil defence volunteers were deployed in various areas of the city to enforce the restriction which will run for 15 days, till April 30.
Roads of the NCR cities — Noida, Gurgaon, Ghaziabad, Greater Noida and Faridabad — also witnessed lower vehicular volume on Friday.
The city roads witnessed smooth flow of vehicles throughout the odd-even hours as no traffic snarls were reported even during peak hours. Even roads connecting to the national Capital saw seamless movement of vehicles throughout the day.
“Nearly 1.70 lakh vehicles travel between Noida and Delhi every day. This also triggers jam at Noida-Greater Noida Expressway and other areas. During the odd-even hours, fewer vehicles were seen on the roads. Also, stretches were vacant due to Friday being a public holiday. From Monday, we will have to keep an eye on the bordering areas and parking of the Metro stations where commuters often park their cars at restricted places. So far, no such incident has been reported as there is still space in the parking spaces of Metro stations,” said Sanjay Singh, Superintendent of Police (Traffic), Gautam Budh Nagar. “The first morning of odd-even was hassle free. All employees reached their offices before time. Additional shuttle service was deployed at Metro stations by many organisations. This service will continue depending on the number of employees,” said a member of facility management zone (FMZ), an organisation of facility managers of MNCs.
Traffic experts said the actual impact of the scheme will be known only on Monday, the first full working day after the second phase roll out. Friday is a holiday because of Ram Navami followed by Saturday and Sunday.
The Delhi government, which has projected the second phase of the road-rationing policy as the “decisive” one, said that 2,000 traffic personnel, 580 enforcement officials and over 5,000 civil defence volunteers are being deployed by it for smooth implementation of the scheme. Violators will be fined Rs 2,000 in accordance with relevant section of the Motor Vehicles Act and the scheme will not be implemented on Sundays. Under the scheme, odd-numbered cars are allowed to run on odd dates while even-numbered cars are allowed on even dates.
The first phase of the policy, that was in force between January 1 and 15, did not have its intended affect as it could not lower pollution “as much as expected” but it significantly helped reduce traffic congestion in the city, Kejriwal has said. However, Kejriwal has also stated that his government is seriously considering to enforce the measure for a period of fifteen days every month.
Sources said any decision in this regard will be taken after analysing impact of the second phase of the odd-even scheme in reducing pollution. The only change in the blueprint of the policy’s implementation from its first phase is the exemption given to cars carrying children in school uniform apart from those being driven by women, VIPs except Ministers in the AAP government and CNG vehicles with mandatory stickers.