Day 2 of enforcement drive in Delhi: 419 vehicles turned away at borders for flouting BS-VI norms, 374 fined

In all, 2,986 challans were issued across the Capital on Thursday to vehicles that did not have a valid pollution under control certificate (PUCC) while 463 light motor vehicles were penalised for flouting BS-VI norms. Just like Wednesday, Western range of Delhi dominated the PUCC challan numbers, and New Delhi recorded the lowest, with 881 and 357 challans issued, respectively.

On Wednesday, 2,743 challans were issued to vehicles by the traffic police, including at borders, for not having a valid PUCC. Additionally, while the Transport department had issued 316 challans, 687 were issued through the Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) system, with the total coming to 3,746.

As per data shared by Delhi Police, 13,434 PUCC challans have been issued by the traffic police due to GRAP Stage 4 violations inside the Capital.

Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa, meanwhile, said that enforcement teams have issued 11,776 challans against polluting and non-compliant BS-VI vehicles over the 24-hour period, starting at around 7 pm on Thursday.

Senior police officers told The Indian Express that it was nothing short of a miracle that Delhi had not faced major traffic jams despite the checks at major intersections.

“Our men have ensured that traffic remains smooth… Compare this to cities such as Mumbai or Bengaluru, which witness long jams… In Delhi, the checking may have caused a 30 or 40 minute delay but we have ensured that residents are not waiting at one place for a long time,” Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Satyavir Katara said.

According to the Delhi Traffic Police, 4,000 of its 5,200 personnel have been deployed to oversee the traffic, including at the borders. “We are also receiving help from Haryana and UP Police as well as the Transport department,” said Katara.

However, these traffic personnel are not just responsible for checking vehicle documents but also for diverting and managing traffic at the same time.

“If three to five men are stationed in one place, all five will not be checking documents. Some will be responsible for ensuring there is no traffic jam… A half-an-hour delay at one point can snowball into a two-to-three-hour delay,” said Katara.

Nevertheless, senior traffic police officers denied facing any hardship due to lack of manpower on ground. “Round-the-clock checks are taking place and our men are on ground in shifts. We’re doing our best,” said Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Dinesh Gupta.

However, he did voice a concern. “Our men are on the ground for 12 hours when pollution is at its peak… we are concerned about their health. We do give them masks and advise them to wear them all the time,” Gupta added.