Odd-even 2.0: Enforcement the focus on Day 1, 500-plus challans in 5 hours

On Friday, Joint Commissioner of Police (traffic) Sharad Agarwal said, “511 violators were challaned between 8 am and 1 pm and the highest number of challans were reported from South Delhi, closely followed by the West district, with 129 and 108 challans respectively issued till 1 pm.”

Delhi People React To Odd-Even Phase II

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To ensure implementation, police had chosen over 200 intersections in the city where 2,000 officials were deployed in teams of three to ten depending upon the volume of traffic.

While traffic was lighter than usual owing to Ram Navami, Delhi Transport Minister Gopal Rai said the response was positive. “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,” said Rai, who also took a bus ride to assess implementation of the scheme.

“If 100 cars are stopping on a signal for an hour rather than two hours, which is the case when the scheme is not in place, then don’t you think the reduced burning of fuel will decrease pollution? Moreover, it is an ongoing effort. We have to maintain the system so that the air will see gradual improvement due to sustained efforts,” said Rai.

The Delhi government is also monitoring air quality at 74 locations for the second phase of the scheme, including seven borders areas of Delhi. In these border areas, one sample will be taken inside Delhi (1-2 km), second sample at the border and the third 1-2 kms inside neighbouring states. In addition, 20 residential locations of Delhi will be monitored using manual samplers.

However, the second rollout was not without snags after Delhi Metro services were affected early in the day when an overhead wire on the Red Line, that connects Dilshad Garden to Rithala, snapped at two points along the 23-km 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 a snag at the IGI airport station.

With scant traffic expected again on Saturday, experts believe Monday will pose a challenge as government offices and schools will reopen after a long weekend. Unlike, the first phase of the scheme, school buses will not be used for the general public. And with a section of auto and taxi unions calling for a strike Monday, sources in the government admitted that bus and Metro services may be strained.

Rajendra Soni, general secretary of both Delhi Autorickshaw Sangh and Delhi Pradesh Taxi Union, said that auto and black-yellow taxis will not ply on the capital’s roads on Monday to protest against app-based cab services.