No morning rush during office hours on Day 1

Motorists enjoy congestion-free road

Early morning rush was missing on the first day of the car curbs scheme on Friday, also because of the Ramnavami holiday.

At least in the morning, on busy stretches, traffic policemen were being lenient. Many motorists were let off with a warning, just because policemen didn’t want to hold up traffic for too long and cause peak-hour jams. But booking violators was to pick up later.

Deccan Herald took a ride in an odd-numbered vehicle in east Delhi from 8 am to 11 am on Friday, covering Mayur Vihar Phase 1, Patparganj, Laxmi Nagar, Anand Vihar ISBT and other stretches on Vikas Marg as well as Shahdara, Jhilmil and Dilshad Garden.

Many Delhiites welcomed the second phase of the road rationing plan. “There is less congestion on roads. Driving a car in rush hours is fun during the odd-even scheme. I don’t have office today but I wanted to be part of the drive, so I hit the road,” said Prakash Dua, a Mayur Vihar Phase 1 resident.

There were those who had come from neighbouring states to “participate”. “I have come to visit my uncle in Delhi around this time because I wanted to participate in the odd-even scheme. I missed the odd-even scheme last time because I was preparing for my examination,” said Vicky Sherawat, who lives in Sonipat in Haryana.

“Even my friend has accompanied me to Delhi this time to see how the odd-even scheme is successfully implemented in the national capital,” he added.

“I am happy to be a part of the anti-pollution drive. I will try to come to Delhi again during the third odd-even plan,” said Sumit Jaglan, friend of Vicky.

In the morning, police took a lenient approach on the busy stretches to avoid snarls. “We have been warning violators and letting them off during rush hour as we don’t want traffic jams on the busy stretches. But on less crowded stretches the defaulters are being challaned,” said a police officer at Laxmi Nagar.

Many teams of the enforcement wing of Delhi Transport Department were seen prosecuting violators by imposing a fine of Rs 2,000.

“I knew police will be letting off people during the morning rush hour and I knew I would get back home by 9 am, so I took out my even-numbered car,” said Rohit who was stopped near Jhilmil Metro station for violating odd-even rules.

Like in the first phase of odd-even, Civil Defence volunteers were seen spreading awareness about the car-rationing scheme and giving roses to defaulters. Even school kids were publicising the city government scheme by holding placards.