Dawn of New Year’s Day 2016, saw the people of Delhi come out in support of Arvind Kejriwal’s odd-even rule. If reports are to be believed there was a decrease in traffic snarls, but that could be because of New Year’s Day being a holiday for most office-goers. Personally, I was driving from Gurgaon to Delhi yesterday and I saw a large number of even numbered vehicles on the road, after crossing the border. I also did notice a large number of traffic police and Delhi police personnel positioned in strategic blind spots to catch rule breakers.
Rule breaker being fined INR 2000
Rule Breakers Will Be Prosecuted
A total of 203 people were chalaaned yesterday by the traffic police and other traffic officials. The first violater was fined INR 2000 and he paid it, stating that he was aware of the rule but had no choice because he lived near Pari Chowk in Greater Noida and there simply was no connectivity. However it was a day of violations not just by the 203 people fined driving fourwheelers, but also 76 auto drivers who refused to take passengers or refused to go by the meter. The police also received complaints against bus services but then they couldn’t do much there because they don’t have enough buses yet.
One Rule At A Time Enforcement
Speeding, lane changing, standing over the zebra crossing, and jumping traffic lights were not considered a violation yesterday. I myself witnessed each of these crimes being committed in the 45 minutes that I was on the road and each time it was committed in front of the police waiting to grab an even numbered vehicle. They simply ignored each of these violations either because they can enforce only one rule at a time or they were given orders to only focus on even numbered vehicles for these 15 days in order to make the odd-even initiative by the Delhi CM appear successful.
Nonchalant Auto Drivers
Problems Reported By The People
The problems that were highlighted by people were that they experienced trouble getting public transport especially autos, because they either refused to take passengers or refused to use the meter. They are the Delhi Chief Minister’s primary vote bank and they continued to laugh in the face of the rules that they are supposed to follow. If 76 reported auto drivers were fined, then imagine how many got away because the people didn’t have the time or the inclination to report them, wait for the cops and then ensure the driver got chalaaned. Other commuters reported that they were unable to correctly estimate the time it would take them without their cars to get to metro stations, or how much time the overall journey to their destination would take, resulting in a lot of missed appointments and tardiness. This should get sorted with practice though.
Phase 2 Roll Out Without Exemptions
Of the 92 Lakh vehicles registered in Delhi, 50 Lakh are two-wheelers. Which means roughly only 21 Lakh vehicles were stopped from plying. Of course if you consider the other exemptions then we are guessing approximately, only 15 Lakh vehicles out of 92 Lakh can be stopped. The impact that this will have on the pollution levels will probably not be as much as the Delhi CM hopes. So transport minister Gopal Rai has hinted at Phase 2 being without exemptions for two-wheelers or women drivers. He has talked about women calling him and saying they will support the odd-even rule but he has not mentioned any actions being taken to make the streets, buses, autos and rickshaws safe for the women of Delhi. This is the city of Nirbhaya after all.
Buses not enough or broken down
On the one hand the response by the residents of Delhi has been refreshing, because it shows that they care about the environment. But then they probably always did. The challenge of making this a widespread rule after Jan 15, continues to exist because answers to questions of security for women and children, consideration for senior citizens, medical emergencies or any other exigencies, increase in public transport options, aggressive prosecution of public transport drivers who break rules, all of this have to be addressed before they can roll out the Delhi odd even rule for longer periods.
Author: Tora Sen
Story Sources:
http://www.ibnlive.com/news/india/203-fined-on-first-day-of-odd-even-plan-implementation-in-delhi-1184249.html
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Delhis-odd-even-formula-Phase-2-on-cards-minus-exemptions/articleshow/50412326.cms
Feature Image Source:
http://dd508hmafkqws.cloudfront.net/sites/default/files/styles/article_node_view/public/PTI1_1_2016_000073A_Kand_0.jpg
