While accusing the BJP Government at the Centre of trying to sabotage the odd-even policy, Delhi Transport Minister Gopal Rai made an appeal to the Delhi residents to give a fitting response to the cynics. He said the scheme will succeed “if Delhiites would want it to succeed and will fail if they want it to fail”.
In a last effort to give momentum to the AAP Government’s ambitious odd-even scheme, Rai equated it with anti-corruption movement and appealed the people of Delhi to participate just as they supported Anna Hazare’s Jan lokpal Andolan.
“On the eve of New Year, we are making a new effort for the people of Delhi. In August, 2011 people doubted what would happen to the anti-corruption movement when the Congress Government arrested Anna Hazare. People thought that it would fail. But people took the reins of the movement from there and then it kept moving forward,” said Rai.
He alleged that the BJP-led Central Government wants the movement to fail and on the behest of the Central Government, IAS and DANICS officers have gone on strike a day before the odd-even scheme kicks off.
“Out of 3,000 buses that have been registered for aiding public transport, many have complained that they are being pressurised not to help in making odd-even rule successful,” Rai alleged and added that just like Aam Aadmi Party has faced many conspiracies before as well.
“The people of Delhi will find a solution to hurdles being raised and they will give a befitting reply to those conspiring against the health of the Delhiites. Because this is not only our fight. This is a fight of each and every Delhi resident,” he said. Meanwhile, Delhi Transport Department reached the revised target of registering 3,000 additional buses on Wednesday night. Out of those, around 1,800 are school buses and 1,200 are contract carriage buses. The route chart for those buses has also been made and depot-wise distribution done, said Rai.
“Apart from that, 1,000 DTC buses that work part time as school buses will also function full time for the next 15 days. 18-20 lakh people will benefit from all these buses pressed into service,” Rai added.
The Government has also decided to run special buses between Delhi-Gurgaon, Delhi-Noida and Gurgaon-Noida.
For enforcement of the odd-even scheme, 200 teams of traffic police, 66 teams of Transport Department and 40 teams of Sub Divisional Magistrates have been constituted. All these teams can issue challans to offenders.
Apart from that, 200 teams of civil defense personnel have also been constituted which will be placed in 200 intersections across Delhi holding placards requesting people to follow odd-even restrictions. When vehicles stop at the red lights, they will offer a rose to the offending drivers and request them to follow the restrictions out of “concern for their children”.