Even as Delhi gears up to celebrate its fourth car-free day on Thursday, it will have to wait another eight months when the city goes completely car-free for a day. While Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had earlier announced that the year’s first ever Delhi car-free day will be held on January 22, only a six kilometer stretch between Vishwavidyalaya Metro Station and Chhattrasal Stadium will go car-free on Friday between 8 am and 4 pm.
The city-wide car-free day has now been postponed to September 22, which is celebrated as the World Car-Free Day. Meanwhile, Special Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Muktesh Chander said the car-free day on Friday is supposed to be voluntary exercise and the traffic police won’t stop any vehicle from entering the designated stretch except when students are cycling or walking there during the rally.
“Just like people showed support during odd-even scheme, we will welcome if people leave behind their cars by their own choice. But since no legal notification has been issued by the Government, we won’t be stopping any vehicles from entering the car-free stretch,” Chander said.
Interestingly, during the second car-free day held in Dwarka on November 22, Kejriwal had announced that the car-free day on January 22 will be celebrated across Delhi, during which even he will cycle to work. However, Delhi Transport Minister Gopal Rai recently confirmed that on January 22, only a six kilometer long stretch in North Delhi will go car-free.
“When we had announced that a city-wide car-free day will be organised on January 22, at that time we had not even conceptualised odd-even experiment. But this experiment was even bigger than the odd-even day, which required much more planning and resources,” said Rai.
Also with Republic Day around the corner, the security forces are busy ensuring security and it may anyway not have been a good time to hold such an event at this time of the year. But many feel that the Government could have postponed it by a month or two rather than by most part of the year.
On November 22 last year during the second car-free day in Dwarka, Kejriwal had said, “On January 22, we will organise car-free day across Delhi. I appeal people to go to their offices by cycle or public transport on that day. I will also go to my office on cycle on January 22. If 5-10 per cent of people follow our appeal and use cycle and public transport on January 22, it will also be big achievement for us.”
It must be noted, however, that when the Government had actually released its blueprint for holding car-free days on September 22 last year, Gopal Rai had said the intention is to hold a city-wide car-free day exactly one year later on World car free day.
“But in order to prepare for the same, we need to change the mindset of the people. So we have decided to hold car-free day on 22nd date of every month in different parts of the city so that the people are ready for it next year on September 22,” Rai had said.