Those behind New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC)’s grandiose plan to make Connaught Place pedestrian-friendly, by banning entry of cars and buses into Inner and Middle Circles of CP for three months from February, perhaps have not done proper homework before the decision, which has not gone down well with the traders.
While announcing the decision, Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu had said the ban is meant to offer a “congestion-free, accident-free and crime-free” experience to visitors.
However, Delhi Traffic Police data in possession of with The Pioneer flies in their face as not only Connaught Place but entire New Delhi district records a fewer number of road accidents compared to other parts of the national Capital. Only 265 accidents took place in New Delhi district in 2016 from January 1 till November 30 against the whopping 7,357 accidents in the entire city during the period. Only one fatal accident was recorded on the Panchkuia Road connecting Outer Circle in 2016 when a pedestrian was hit by a bus.
According to the Delhi Traffic Police’s data, Connaught Place falls under the jurisdiction of the Parliament Street Traffic Circle which registered 13 fatal accidents in 2016 and all these accidents took place around the ridge area, Shankar Road, Budhda Garden area.
Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Garima Bhatnagar said, “Around 5,000-6,000 vehicles cross the Inner as well as Outer Circle. It is only during the peak hours that these routes witness vehicular rush. Out of the total accidents which happened in the New Delhi district, the number of fatal as well as minor accidents has registered a dip.”
Inner, Middle and Outer Circles of Connaught Place witness heavy traffic from morning till the evening. Fatalities in this part of city are negligible since the traffic moves very slowly, said another Traffic Police officer.
As per the data accessed by The Pioneer, in 2015, a total of 1,582 fatal accidents, from January 1 till December 31, took place in Delhi. While in 2016, from January 1 till November 30, 1,474 fatal accidents took place.
In 2015, 6,503 minor or non-fatal accidents took place in Delhi (from January 1 till December 31) while in 2016, from January 1 till November 30, 5,883 such accidents were registered.
The data clearly indicates decrease in the number of road accidents — be it minor or major — in Delhi.
More than hundreds of Government offices as well as private banks envelop the landscape of the Inner Circle of Connaught Place. According to the security guards of three parking lots that are supposed to accommodate all visitors’ car with the implementation of no-car policy, most of the vehicles-two wheelers and four wheelers are parked by the shopkeepers who run their stores in the Inner Circle. Following which, the other major portion of the vehicles is parked by the people who work in the financial sector, with their offices located in the Inner as well as Middle Circle.
“If the road accident records are any barometer, the very idea to make Connaught Place area accident free is ludicrous. Too many red lights that function round-the-clock on the Outer Circle do not allow motorists to drive fast. Traffic Police personnel are there to keep a tab on the speed and hence they minimise road accidents in this area,” said a trader who opposed to NDMC’s plan.