On the first day of the second phase of the odd-even scheme, 884 people were charged with violation of the road-rationalising rule in Delhi on Friday.
In the first five hours, South Delhi registered the highest number of violators followed by West Delhi with 129 and 108 challans respectively issued between 8 am and 1 pm on Friday, a senior official said.
Delhi Traffic Police has strategically chosen over 200 intersections in the city where 2,000 officials have been deployed in teams of three to ten depending upon the volume of traffic.
Gopal Rai Satisfied With Odd-Even 2
Delhi Transport Minister Gopal Rai stated that people’s response on the first day of the fortnight-long road rationing odd-even scheme was “positive”. Rai himself took a bus ride to assess the implementation of the scheme.
I have reports from all over Delhi that people are following the scheme. The final picture will emerge after we receive reports from different departments.Gopal Rai, Delhi Transport Minister
Although, Rai has pointed out that some complaints were received from border areas where drivers from other states were caught for violation.
Rai said problems could be faced due to schools being opened, unlike the trial run in January.
Rai appealed to the citizens of Delhi to leave “early” to drop their children to school so that they are not caught. Rai added that following the extended weekend, traffic is expected to be heavy on Monday.
He also urged women drivers – exempt from the Odd-Even rule – to help pick and drop groups of school-going children in their neighbourhood.
Rai also said that Delhi government cannot control fares imposed by radio cabs that are registered outside Delhi. He was responding to a question on what action will be taken against app-based cabs with exorbitant surcharges on car-pooling services.
Rai, however, clarified that “strict action” will be taken if any complaints are registered.
Success Review and Public Transport
The success of the second phase of the odd-even will be reviewed before taking any decision on implementing the scheme monthly.
The Transport minister has assured a reduction in pollution and traffic congestion.
The number of vehicles on Delhi roads will reduce by half during odd even. If 10 lakh vehicles are off-road on any given day congestion will also be reduced. Consequently, pollution will go down since vehicles will consume less fuel due to congestion free movement.Gopal Rai, Delhi Transport Minister
Rai said the number of buses has been “reduced” this time as many buses ran empty during the trial run of the scheme in January.
Along with 6000 Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) buses, 600 buses from schools and private players are expected to strengthen public transport.
DTC is procuring 1000 new buses and the first lot of 20 buses including 10 AC buses which are expected to arrive by the first week of May, he said.
Snag in Metro
Services were curtailed on Delhi Metro’s Red Line, that connects Dilshad Garden to Rithala. This after the overhead wire snapped at two places along the 23-km-long corridor.
Passengers were also stranded in the premium Airport Express Line for around 25 minutes in the morning, after the doors of a train developed snag at the IGI Airport station.
On Red Line, trains are running in a short loop between Tis Hazari and Rithala stations and on a single line between Kashmere Gate and Dilshad Garden stations.
Services have been curtailed from 1.30 pm onwards. Over-Head Equipment (OHE) staff is looking into repair of catenary wire which is found broken at two locations between Dilshad Garden and Shastri Park.Metro Official
During the odd-even scheme, 200 metro trains will make around 3,248 trips daily. 15 additional feeder buses will also leave from stations across the city.
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